The Rusher War
by Dragon of Decimation
Summary: A new land is discovered by a famous war general named Rusher, and brings along thousands of his loyal followers. He wants to colonize the land and make it his own...but the savages of the land are not so keen on the idea. They will do everything in their power to stop the flood of invaders.
1. Landing

The craggy peaks of the sea bordering mountains came into view through the morning mist. They stretched into the sky, higher than the clouds allowed one to see. Their vertical, smooth faces, seemingly unclimbable, made them all the more impressive. They looked like they were made by gods.

Kayden lost focus on the mountain range as the bow of the ship got slammed by a strong wave. He grabbed the railing so that he wouldn't fall and face plant on the splintery, slippery deck. Once he regained balance he looked around him to see other aspiring adventurers pointing and shouting at the mountains. They had finally made it.

The small ship was probably only capable of holding one hundred people and it was jammed packed. Many nights, people including Kayden had to sleep on the wet, spruce floors. He had woken up many times with rashes from being soaked in water. Clearly, the ship wasn't very well water proofed. He had been on the ship for two months, traveling across a vast ocean so he had dealt with these conditions for quite a while.

Every time he got fed up with the traveling situations, he just remembered why he was doing what he was doing. Only a couple of months before, June 1st; Kayden remembered the date exactly; a news messenger had come to his village with waving arms and an excided demeanor. He had stood in the town center on a log and spoke of how the great military leader of their country, Rusher, had discovered a new land. The messenger spoke of how the people who lived there, across the ocean, lived by no rules, no morale code, just violence. They were barbarians. Not much was known of the land but he said that Rusher had gone just to explore, not to conquer.

Rusher is hailed as a hero in their land. Many evil forces have risen on the horizons, threatening to crush their way of life. The nation to the south had launched a massive land and naval invasion, destroying the southern towns and cities of their country, Farchon. In less than three weeks, Rusher had not only driven out the invaders but also took over a large chunk of their territory during the retreat. This created a buffer land between the southern nation and Farchon.

Long story short, Rusher is a military genius. Usually wherever Rusher goes, a large following follows. People feel safe by him. They'll do anything he says…

Kayden glanced back at the peaks of the approaching barbaric lands Rusher had discovered. Various posters were plastered around his village, inviting people to come over to the new land, still without a name, and settle down. Rusher was trying to expand the Farchon empire but he needed people to do it.

Kayden's heart swelled with the pride of the idea that he was going to be forging new frontiers alongside his hero, Rusher. Rusher was also calling for troop recruits to set up a small army and defense groups to protect the new settlements from barbaric attack. Kayden was planning on joining the ranks; to serve under Rusher. The posters did warn of danger though; that nothing was yet established and there would be no food or shelter, that you'd have to forge for a while on your own. Rusher expected people to come together and form small settlements, bases, and forts. This would slowly enable safety for the settlers of the new land.

Rumor had it, that there was only one, small opening in the seaside cliffs where people could enter the continent. The place was only about a kilometer wide and it was notoriously named 'Spawn'. Adventurers were cautioned that barbarians knew to wait at this place to attack unexpecting, ungeared people.

Admittedly, Kayden was a bit nervous but he had gained a few friends on the long trip out here who he planned to stick with for a while. Kayden took a deep breath as he stared back at the vast ocean he had come from. This was further out than most people had ever explored. This was the unknown.

No more than a few minutes later, it came into view…spawn. Its majestic mouth opened up as if it wanted to eat the ocean. The walls of the pass shot up into the sky, into the clouds and mist. The ship turned towards it and continued on, keeping a steady pace alongside the waves. Once they were about a half kilometer away, the ship stopped.

 _Why has it stopped? We're almost there._ He thought.

The old spruce door at the back of the deck opened and the captain came out. He raised his voice to be heard over the crowd. "This is as far as we go. You'll all have to load into the row boats and go the rest of the way on your own."

Everyone started chatting excitedly but Kayden walked up to the captain as he turned to walk away. "Captain! Wait!"

Seemingly annoyed, the captain turned around. "Yes?"

"Why not go all the rest of the way. We're almost there."

The captain squinted through his old eyes before hiking up his leather jacket. He spoke solemnly. "Let's just say that on my past trips, I've lost a few too many crew members to arrow fire."

Leaving Kayden frozen, the captain turned back around and walked back into the bowels of the ship.

Fear really hit Kayden for the first time. This was real now.

"Kayden!" Someone called his name. He turned to see his new friend, JohnnyPlayz2004, stepping into a boat which was suspended over the side of the ship like a life boat. "Come on! Get on my boat before it fills up!"

Kayden rushed over to the boat which was already half full and stepped inside. Its swaying threw him off and made him fall to the floor.

"Clumsy." Johnny said as he helped Kayden up onto a seat.

"Thanks."

"Are you ready man!?" Johnny asked. He was excited. Far more than Kayden was, which was hard to believe.

"Well it's kind of scary. There are barbarians there you know."

Johnny dismissed that with a wave of his hand. "Pffft. Tall tales. Just to generate publicity."

Kayden shrugged. "Maybe. But I guess we'll see when we get there."

"I guess so."

Suddenly, a girl, about their age, 17, jumped into the seat across from them. "Hey, boys."

"Oh. Hey Gamma!" Johnny replied, too jittery to sit still.

"Hey Johnny P!" She then turned towards Kayden, her green eyes looked straight at him. Her blonde hair reflected in the sunlight. "And how are you Kayden?" she asked with a hint of mischievousnes.

"I'm doing great. You?"

"Fantastic! We're about to meet Rusher!"

"Well we might – not meet him right away. He's going to be off exploring." Kayden pointed out sort of obviously.

"Whatever, we'll be serving under him which is super cool, regardless."

Once again, Kayden shrugged.

The boat launched a few minutes later. Four guys took over the oars and made their way, through the violent waves, towards spawn. Once they got within one hundred blocks of the beach, things started to clear up and become more visible. Everyone was looking to see what they could see.

Expecting to see pristine sand and trees, Kayden was…taken back. There were no trees and the beach was made up mostly of mud. Random cobblestone structures filled in the gap, creating an ugly display. What seemed like a thick grime floated on the water outside of the beach.

"This isn't exactly what I expected." Gamma commented.

"Neither did I. Something feels-wrong." He answered back absently as he took in what he was seeing with confusion.

Johnny scratched his head. "Maybe just the entrance is like this, ya' know?" No one answered back. The entire boat had fallen silent.

All of a sudden there was movement on the beach. A few people pointed and whispered quickly. What seemed to be a man, ran out from a gap in the mess of cobblestone and made his way to a boat that was parked on the beach. Frantically, he pulled it into the water, jumped in, and started making his way towards them. Everyone watched in silence as his boat passed theirs. He didn't look up from his oars and just powered through the group of other boats. The man was young; maybe mid-twenties, and was dirty from head to toe. He also had a frantic look on his face as he made his way towards the ship.

"Rusher messenger?" Someone on the boat said.

"Yeah, probably." Replied another.

The sinking feeling in Kayden's stomach intensified. There seemed to be something really distraught about him. Like he had seen something no one should ever have to see.

Kayden settled back down in his boat and sunk lower into his seat almost wishing he didn't have to get up for a while.

"That was weird." Gamma said, stating the obvious.

Seeing the state of the man who just passed, put everyone into a deeper silence. The pilots of the boats steered the one hundred or so people towards the beach.

Not more than a minute later, the front of the small boats hit the shore. Kayden's heart skipped a beat when he felt that.

People started filing out of the boats. Some seemed wary but for the most part, most were jittery and excited.

Kayden followed Jonny out. Gamma exited last. Kayden's feet landed in the mud. Foot prints were everywhere in the muck. Trash littered the beach and it stunk to high hell. Some people started gagging.

Kayden looked down the line of people. About one-hundred-twenty in all. They all seemed to be transfixed on the cobblestone and dirt mess that blocked their way through the pass.

"How are we going to get through?" Gamma asked as she pressed up against Kayden.

Johnny pointed towards a thin gap in the cobble. "We should be able to slide through those holes and gaps."

Just then a woman, maybe in her late twenties, turned towards Johnny with a contemplative look on her face. "It looks really thick in there. I don't know if I could handle that. What if I get stuck!?"

Johnny ushered her to calm down. "Don't worry. I'll help you through."

Kayden took a deep breath as he noticed that the group was moving into the jungle of cobblestone pillars. "We better get going." He said to his friends "We don't want to be left behind."

He took Gamma's hand who seemed surprised. "C'mon. We can do this." Her surprised look faded into an innocent smile as she followed alongside Kayden. To be honest, Kayden took her hand because he was scared himself although he wasn't willing to admit it.

They were mere blocks from the cobble when commotion was heard from within the depths of the mess. Everyone froze in their tracks. Kayden listened intensely as he tried to stay as still as possible. He glanced over at Jonny who was quietly stepping over a deep crevasse in the cobble mess. His face was in shadow from the thousands of cobblestone blocks above them. Kayden turned back to face the front. He didn't hear anything more.

"That was weird." Gamma said shakily. "That sounded like people."

Kayden shook his head. "Probably just an animal. Come on." He tugged on Gammas hand and they continued. Everyone else seemed to regain their wits also and started moving again.

Kayden let go of Gammas hand to jump over a few blocks deep gap. His friends followed suit. He then climbed over a rocky pile of cobble before weaving through thick, unorderly pillars.

 _This is strange cobblestone._ Kayden thought ominously. Something really isn't right here. _It looks almost as if buildings were built here and destroyed and buildings were built on top of them only to be destroyed again._ Kayden also noticed that there were many places where it looked as if TNT had gone off. Hell, all of it seemed as if TNT went off. One block wide pillars shot up through gaps in the cobble as if they were used by people to get out of the blocky mess. Other blocks were seen also. Wooden planks, dirt, gravel, and sand were all strewn throughout, only making the place seem more chaotic.

Suddenly, through his not paying attention to his steps, Kayden's foot didn't touch anything on his next step and he fell with a yell. He scrambled to grab something as he fell. His right hand grabbed a ledge of cobblestone as he panicked.

"Kayden!" he heard Gamma yell frantically. Kayden looked up to see Gamma reaching down to grab his wrist. Jonny ran over and offered his hand to Kayden.

"D-don't look down, buddy. Just grab my hand." Jonny stuttered. Kayden couldn't help it. Despite his fear he looked down and instantly became disoriented.

Below him was a vast expanse. After a large gulp Kayden realized what he was seeing. Below him was a large, dark cavern. It descended dozens of blocks. The blocks at the bottom seemed to be…bedrock. _That's a far way down._ He thought panickily. Bedrock! This cavern was so deep it reached bedrock! Various lava and water streams fell from the ceiling of the cavern which, as far as Kayden could see, extended in all directions. Various shafts of light, coming from other holes in the surface, lit up sections of the bottom.

"Kayden, I can't hold you up much longer!" Gamma yelled. Kayden shot his head up to see his friends above him, terrified.

"Give me your hand!" Jonny yelled. This time he did as he was told. He slowly reached up and grabbed Jonny's hand. They then pulled Kayden up out of the cavern.

"Woah." Jonny said as Kayden collected himself. "The ground is hollow?" No one spoke for a few more moments and they stared down into the hole.

Someone, another adventurer, came up behind them and looked down into the hole. "We better be careful." He said. "Even the land can kill us."

"Who are you?" Jonny asked.

Kayden recognized him from the ship. He had brown hair and was above average in height. He wore basic clothes. Kayden had never spoken to him though.

"My name is Lich. You?" He asked as he offered his hand to Jonny. Jonny shook it. "This is Gamma and Kayden. I'm JonnyPlayz2004. We're sticking together."

"You are? Mind if I join you? I never found anyone on the ship worth sticking with."

Jonny looked over at Kayden and Gamma with a skeptical look in his eyes. After a moment of hesitation Kayden responded. "Sure, why not? It's dangerous here. We'd be safer with more numbers."

"Cool! Thanks!" Lich cheered. "Lead the way."

Kayden nodded before carefully stepping around the deadly hole in the ground. He tried not looking directly down into it, but he still caught a glimpse of the massive expanse of open air right beneath their feet.

"We better pick up pace. We don't want to be left behind." Kayden said before picking his way around the craggy cobblestone.

After walking for about ten more minutes, there was still no end in sight to the jungle of junk blocks.

"I wonder when this will end." Gamma said. "It has to at some point."

Jonny responded. "You're right. Rusher wouldn't ask for assistance if this is all there was. This place so far is useless. We'll be on rolling hills and in lush forests before you know it."

"I hope so." Gamma said.

A minute later the group rounded a large mountain of cobblestone. It was probably created by someone repeatedly pouring lava on top of water and water on top of that lava to create a cascading effect of cobblestone. Kayden knew this as a 'lava cast'. It was a viable tactic in covering something up. It was used for both flat out grieving, and warfare. He had seen a few of them when he had traveled down south right after the war against the southern nation. The southern nation had created massive, two-hundred block high lava casts to smother entire villages. The rubble is still being cleaned up.

The one they saw here was a relatively small one, only about fifteen blocks tall from the surface. Kayden could only imagine what laid underneath.

Once they had gotten around it, Kayden had stopped in his tracks. The others did too. Ahead of them was a clearing in the jungle of cobble. A twenty by twenty block base was cleared out and in the middle of it, sat a small wooden hut. The clearing was open to the gray sky. A few fellow adventurers sat against the side of the hut, taking a rest. They waved at Kayden and the group as they appeared. They waved back.

"Anyone else curious to peek inside?" Lich asked.

"There may be something inside that we could find useful. Like food or tools." Jonny suggested.

Gamma responded "It's probably completely raided and the owner long gone." She waved her hand at it as if to dismiss it.

"Wouldn't hurt to check though." Kayden countered. He started walking forward and upon reaching the entrance, realized that there was no door. He took his first step through the doorway only to be greeted by an awful smell. The inside was about only three by three blocks and there was a small table in one corner. As Kayden looked down to the left what he saw in the corner repulsed him and made him jump back into the doorway, slamming into Jonny.

"Hey, what the hell!? What was that for?" Jonny asked as he pushed Kayden off him.

Kayden put his hands on his knees as he took in big gulps of air. Gamma started walking towards the entrance to investigate but Kayden grabbed her wrist to stop her. She let out a small gasp at that. "Do not go in there…you don't need to see that." Kayden had never seen a dead body before…at least not like that. It looked like it had been sitting there for weeks but there were no animals around, to help it decompose properly. It was just sitting there, letting the forces of gravity take it over. Rain that must have seeped in through the destroyed ceiling and that battered the body, also took its toll.

Lich walked over to Kayden and knelt next to him. "Are you okay? Need to talk about it?" Kayden shook his head then stood up after he composed himself, the image of the body still in the forefront of his mind.

"Let's just get going. There's nothing here."

Lich nodded then stood back up and ushered the group forward. The group of three other adventurers sitting taking a rest looked shocked at Kayden's reaction. Clearly, they hadn't looked inside the hut before lying down next to it.

Kayden, Gamma, Jonny, and Lich climbed their way through the dark mess of junk blocks, just trying to not break an ankle. Gamma eventually came up next to Kayden and grabbed his hand. After a moment of silence, she spoke. "I'm scared of this place. I thought when we got here…there would be sunshine and a welcoming party. Not garbage and endless cobblestone." Her words left a dark mark on Kayden. He had thought the same things. Why would Rusher bring them to a place like this especially when there are no sources of food or clean water?

Kayden looked up the side of the sharp stone cliff up through a hole in the cobblestone. It stretched up into the clouds, out of view. 'What is this place' he thought as he swung his legs over a cobblestone block.

Lich brought up the back and Kayden could see that some other adventurers were catching up behind them. "We should pick up the pace if we want to get out of this cobble jungle before nightfall-"

"Look! There!" Jonny yelled as he pointed forward. The group followed his finger straight ahead. "You can see open sky!" Jonny pushed ahead and started bounding around cobble and a water stream to get to a short cobblestone wall which he climbed with ease.

"Come on. Let's follow!" Gamma said as she ran ahead. "This must be the end of the cobblestone!" Kayden looked back at Lich who shrugged and began to jog, himself. Kayden followed him up the wall, excitement bubbling in his stomach. Will Rusher's base of operations be here? Will the rolling hills and lush forests start? A thousand images of what was possible ran through his head in a matter of seconds. He rose over the top of the ledge and stopped dead in his tracks. The rest of the group was silent and standing still.

Ahead of them, the air opened…but to unbelievable wasteland. There were no trees or any grass in sight. Stone and cobblestone made up the majority of the blocks in sight. The ground was riddled with craters and holes and there was almost no flat ground. Lava casts dominated the landscape, some going up to sky limit. Cobble pillars arced and zig-zagged across the sky like lightening frozen in time. The further out Kayden could see, the worse it seemed to get. Massive delipidated junk structures were all over and had lava and water falling from them. The occasional dirt block broke up the overwhelming gray that seemed to eat away at your soul. This was worse than any warzone Kayden had ever seen. There was not an animal in sight.

 _What is this?_ Kayden thought as the bad feeling that had been building in his stomach finally exploded. _Where's the paradise that Rusher promised?_


	2. The Worst Place in Minecraft

The well-muscled, well armored man sat on his perch, high above the beautiful wastelands of spawn, the noon sun glinting off his shiny elytra. A diamond axe hung from his belt, glowing with high level enchantments. The strong figure took in a deep breath as he stared down from the top of one of the tallest lavacasts at spawn, sweeping his eyes back and forth, up and down, like a hawk looking for his next meal, waiting patiently for his moment.

The influx of newsucks was annoying at the least, concerning at the most. This is the largest invasion in remembered history, even larger than when the Chans invaded over four centuries ago. But the people of this land have never given in to anyone who tried to take their home. The natives tear each other apart all the time with no winner in sight…the only thing that ever has, or ever can for that matter, bring them together to any degree is a foreign invasion; an invasion of people who have no respect for their way of life…who have no idea of their rich history, all their legendary monuments…no respect for all they've built…and destroyed. They are clueless, worthless life forms who will never have a place here. They'll never understand the magical ugliness of this place.

The armored figure squinted slightly as hatred flowed through his veins. There is no explaining to them…the only way here is through blood and fire. The only good thing you can do with foreigns is to kill them. Not only are you preserving your way of life, but it's also fun.

A slight grin came to his mouth.

It was at that moment he sensed them…

He closed his eyes as he unclipped his axe and dove off the steep lavacast, activating his elytra as he shot straight down the side. He traveled at fifty blocks a second for a few peaceful moments before flaring out his elytra to spiral to the left so he wouldn't hit the ground. He zipped across the ground, maneuvering effortlessly through cobble pillars and piles. He then shot out into open air where he stayed for a second before gracefully falling off the shelf and down the next cliff of the lavacast. As he started pulling up again, his target came into view. Only a hundred blocks away-eighty-fifty-thirty-ten. He spiraled through the air as he swung his axe in an outward motion. Blood splattered him as he breathed in the rushing, dank air. He pulled back on his elytra to slow himself then skidded to a stop on the side of the bottom of the lavacast.

He looked back at the body that laid strewn across the cobble, thirty blocks back.

The armored figure chuckled. "I just freaking air assassinated him!" his chuckle turned to a laugh as he gushed over his latest kill.

After getting over himself, he flicked the blood off his axe and put it back on his belt. He then sat down on a dirt block and pulled out a couple cooked steak and started to gnaw on them. All this stalking made him hungry. He had plenty of steak, but he even had a stack of pumpkin pies for dessert! He loved pumpkin pies.

Suddenly, he heard the _fwoosh_ of an elytra next to him. He dropped his steak, jumping up, and unsheathed his axe, ready to clash with his visitor. He immediately stood down when he saw who it was.

"I'll slit your throat if you do that again, Razar." He said as he lowered his guard.

The equally armored man spoke with a smile "I'm just surprised your hacks didn't detect me earlier, Fit."

Fit sat back down and picked his steak off the dirty ground before throwing it away. "You _were_ always good at stealthing, even back in the Valkyria days."

"Well that is my specialty, haha. So, what's your count today?"

Fit chewed another bite of another steak. "That newsuck makes seven." He said as he nodded toward the air assassination victim.

Razar folded his arms, plated in enchanted diamond armor. "Ha! I've got eight. There was this group of three of them, got them with one arrow. These newsucks really have no damn clue what they're doing. This is open season for us. I've never killed so many people in such a short time."

"That's surprising." Fit said plainly as he took another bite.

Razar looked down at Fit who took even another bite. His tone turned a bit less enthusiastic "You've been out here for almost a month, Fit. Why haven't you gone back to base by now?"

Fit swallowed a succulent chunk of well-done meat. He gathered his thoughts for a second before responding. Something wasn't sitting well with him. "Well like it or not, Razar, this is a new invasion…with much more to come. I've heard rumors that the leader of these idiots…some warlord of sorts, led the charge here and brought them all along. Don't know if that's true or not. Just heard that here and there."

He paused, a bit troubled. "We need to contain these people. We can't let them get out of spawn. If we do, well… first of all, they will be harder to find, second, they'll set seeds, start gathering resources, grow roots, and expand. We can't let that happen so – I want to take out as many as I can while they're weak." He threw the final chunk of steak in his mouth, thoroughly satisfied with his meal.

Razar started laughing hysterically. "Oh, come on Fit! There's not a tree for ten thousand blocks of spawn! No animals for thirty thousand, twenty if you're lucky. These newsucks will die of starvation if we don't kill them first. None of them will get out. Believe me when I say that."

Fit took a deep breath. "That's if they don't find a sanctuary. Whatever, I'll head back to base soon, but not after gathering more information on this warlord guy…and after killing a few dozen more of them."

"Chill out, Fit. This isn't going to turn into a fourth incursion. These guys seem harmless enough."

"Hopefully not. But you're right, these people have shown nothing to me, showing that they're any true threat."

"Exactly!" Razar yelled as he looked around. "I'm just here for the fun."

"Uh-huh." Fit muttered to his long-time base-mate and combat partner as he started walking away. "I'll be back before long. Tell the rest not to miss me too much."

"Ha!" Razar called after him. "I think they actually enjoy your absence. Oh, and Marcus broke your pumpkin pie machine."

"Tell him I'm going to kick his ass when I get back." Fit called over his shoulder.

"Ha! Will do."

Razar dashed away at an inhuman speed, using his uncanny hack abilities. He really was gifted.

Fit leaped up into the air, and off of a small cliff to activate his elytra so he could glide over the uneven, rough ground. He glided under a massive overhang which was a hundred blocks up, while dodging falling water and lava streams.

Spawn. Fit thought, a masterpiece of humanity. This place cannot be recreated. It can't be emulated or copied anywhere else in the world. It's the product of centuries of wars, bases which have risen and fallen, griefers doing their work, thousands of creeper explosions, and of course, by being pillaged by people passing by gathering resources. Since the only way to enter the continent is through spawn, any settlers or visitors coming in gather any resource they can grab. With every wave of people, whether it be one person or a hundred, the wasteland of spawn is pushed further and further out into the continent. It is so destroyed, nature doesn't even attempt to retake it. Fit doesn't even think it can. There is not enough dirt to set seeds for new trees, no bees to pollinate the plants, therefore no animals to feed on them. It's completely dead. Spawn has expanded out so far, it's reached the point that most newsucks can't find sufficient food to eat or even a tree to cut down to make tools and either end up withering to death, falling to death, or turning back…of course if they aren't killed by a native.

Native.

Fit never liked that word to describe the people of this land. He continued to glide through the wastes.

Native made them sound too under-developed. They've had cities and massive monuments…most of which have been destroyed at this point, but all the same…what would be a better word? The natives have been there forever, obviously. They are veterans compared to all the newsucks.

Veterans…

That's it. He thought. We are the Veterans. He liked the sound of that. The Veterans. He shot the idea down almost immediately. The other natives would probably laugh at that. Not that he cared about most of their opinions. Most of them could die slowly in a hole for all he cared.

Fit shook his head and decided to focus on the task at hand and check out the south highway to see if any newsucks had discovered the rough road leading from spawn. He made a turn then landed, climbing a pile of cobble before jumping off again. In two minutes, the highway came into view.

The highway was nothing more than a straight path of cobble a few blocks wide, hovering above what used to be ground level but what is now just swiss cheese stone. It was broken and blocked in places but if you wanted out of spawn, this is how you'd do it. There was one main highway leading off in each direction from spawn, going for tens and tens of thousands of blocks, built by random people of the past. They were an easy way to get in and out of spawn of you had a horse.

He glided over it and landed on top of it. It had short, broken up cobble railings.

Suddenly he sensed one. Why do they always travel alone? Idiots. It was coming from the direction of the center of spawn. Fit slowly meandered towards their direction. There were some wooden planks blocking his view down the path past eighty blocks or so. Then, the victim came up into view from behind them. It was a girl. Maybe 20. He saw her first. He sped up to her and grabbed her from behind, and held his axe up to her throat.

She yelped in surprise as Fit leaned her over the side of the path, below a wide gap opened in the ground that made its way down to bedrock.

"L-let me go!" She yelled out. "Go away!" She screamed and struggled but Fit held her tight. He enjoyed her struggle. "Noooo!" She sobbed as she sunk down. "I-I just lost my boyfriend please don't d-do this to me! I just want to go home! Yeah, I was going home, please let me go- I-I'll never come back if you just- "

"Shut the hell up." Fit cut her off "I'll let you live. If you tell me why you're here. Why are all of you here. Tell me."

She nodded profusely, almost hitting his axe, tears falling from her face. "Rusher, the general of our country came here and – and wanted us to come and settle down and start a colony. I – I was just doing what he said- "

"Where is he now?"

"I – I don't know. C-can you just let me go now plea-? "

Fit pulled the axe back onto her neck before letting the two pieces of her fall into the crevasse, never to be seen again.

 _Rusher_

He let the name simmer into his brain for a moment. For some reason, although he only knew the name of this person, something was…not sitting right about him. Fit almost felt like…like he'd be an adversary like he'd never faced before.

Ludicrous thought! He'll just find the general who's probably hiding in a hole within a thousand blocks of spawn, eating his comrades' food so that he himself won't starve. That's the warlord he had heard about…the 'General'. Great general he is, leading untrained, ungeared warriors into battle. All of them will all be sorry they ever set foot here. That's not a promise, that's a fact.

If Fit wanted to cut off Rusher and his invasion, he would have to find him and kill him…then, just then, maybe the influx of newsucks would stop and he could go back to his everyday life.

Now would probably be a good time to get out of spawn and spread the word about this 'Rusher' guy. Even to his non-base mates.

He once more flicked the blood off his axe.

 _Eight._

He grinned again as he remembered the sight of the girl falling into the crevasse.

 _Welcome newsucks, to the worst place in Minecraft._


	3. Not the Right Kind of Help

**Three months earlier**

The head of the Farchon senate ran his eyes over the paper again as he soaked in what he was reading.

Just now, a messenger ran into the senate room in the middle of a debate with a message of upmost urgency… it was about Rusher's mission exploring the Northern Ocean. As he read on and on, his expression got grimmer. It went like this:

 _General S. Rusher, head of the Farchonian military has discovered a new land about some two months sail away into the Northern Ocean. Disaster struck when a freak storm swept in the night before they were to land and capsized the ship and most of her crew. 239 members, sailors and soldiers are presumed dead. Only General Rusher, Lieutenant Mitch, and four others survived. General Rusher, Lieutenant Mitch, and three of the four others went on to explore the land. The last one turned back in a surviving life boat and traveled through the perilous conditions of the Northern Ocean to deliver this message. He is in poor condition and is not expected to survive. The only things known about this land, is that the only entrance to the continent is a gap in the mountains that border the ocean. It is only about a kilometer wide. The survivors also took note of natives that inhabit the land. Nothing more is known about them._

 _Rusher requests military reinforcements immediately and is going to start exploring the continent with the remaining survivors._

The senate head passed the brief message to his right to let the next member read it. He then passed it right to the next member who passed it to her right until the piece of paper made its way around the round table. Each member sat back in silence after they read it.

Once the message made its way around the circle, his fourteen fellow senate members watched him with intense eyes as they awaited his first words. He chose them carefully. Their yellow robes and hats shined from the light from the redstone lamps hung high above their heads.

"We cannot let this disaster become public." He said with a hint of malice. "General Rusher is the hero of our people. If news of this catastrophe makes its way out to the streets, there will be mass hysteria."

Another spoke. He was old and his words were weak. "Rusher was foolish, as we warned him to not venture too far into the unknowns of the north. He failed in his quest, losing over two-hundred of our finest in the process. He is asking for even more troops although he failed with upmost disaster. So, the question is, are we going to lend him even more troops for him to throw away?"

The room fell silent for a second.

"You all know he is not the military genius the common man thinks him to be." The old man added. "We shouldn't send more troops his way."

A woman on the other side of the table perked up. "What do you mean, Parth? Not send more troops? We cannot just leave Rusher up there to die." She said with a hint of anger.

The old man known as Parth spoke again. "That is not nor will it ever be my intention Martha." He sat further up as if to emphasize his next point. "We look elsewhere for help. We ask for volunteers from the people of Farchon."

"Ludacris!" Martha interjected.

Another member spoke. "Yes, and what do we say to the people; if we can't tell them Rusher is capsized?"

"Exactly!" Martha said again. "This is nonsense!"

"Maybe not so." A commanding, gravelly voice spoke.

Every member of the council whipped their head toward the left side of the table at a voice they rarely ever hear. The council head stared at the stoic figure who just spoke, from under his long bushy eyebrows, stuck in a perpetual scowl.

The man cloaked in shadow from under his wide brimmed yellow hat and hidden by a veil that covered his face, spoke again. "We lost ten percent of our forces in the war against the Southern nation. We have twenty percent of our forces down there now, rebuilding the countryside, and protecting the border, not to mention the remaining numbers are spread all throughout the continent protecting our interests. We're spread thin. We all know the Southern Nation could strike at any moment and start a second war. Especially with their new alliance with Gracton, they could now start rebuilding their army at a higher rate. This said, we need all our troops here, now. But at the same time, we can't abandon Rusher. If we ask for volunteers from the people, we don't have to sacrifice any troops and at the same time, give our citizens the morale boosting activity of helping their hero. Rusher is the only thing holding this country's people together. If we lose him...who knows what the result will be."

Martha slammed her fist on the dark oak table. "We can't just send civilians into unknown lands! There will be untold casualties and you all know damn well thousands will follow Rusher." She paused to take a breath. She then directed her anger towards the stoic, cloaked council member. "I think you're just biased and being paranoid, Kazara, because of what happened to you and your face during the war!"

"That is enough, Martha!" The council head yelled as spit flew from his mouth.

Martha snapped out of her rage to realize she had stood up sometime during her rant. She sat back down.

Kazara's eyeless face just stared at her, unmoving, unspeaking from behind his black veil.

A middle age member cleared her throat. "I think Kazara has a point. General Rusher must be protected but we must not spend any more troops on him."

The council head nodded "Since we gave Rusher the glory of leading the charge in The War, he thinks he's the shot caller. We all know he is not."

"Exactly." Another said. "We should ignore his call for military reinforcements and send in volunteers and say Rusher's quest was successful and he needs volunteers to start settling on the new land."

The head spoke again, raising a hand. "Let's vote on that, whether or not to send in volunteers to go support General Rusher."

They went around the table, one at a time. "Yay" "Yay" "Yay" "Yay" "Nay" "Yay" … The head counted the total as each member voted. Martha voted with an energetic "Nay" but it did not matter. The final vote came out to eleven "Yay" and four "Nay".

"Then it's settled." The head decreed.

He waved his assistant over before leaning over to speak into his ear. "Spread the word."

 **Present day**

Rusher pushed up the front of his iron helmet to wipe sweat from his forehead as he dropped his pickaxe to his side and leaned against the stone wall of the mine. This was grueling, especially for him. He had hardly ever mined in his entire life, let alone do it for his survival.

"Mitch!" He yelled back through the mine to his lieutenant. "Anything good?" A few exasperated moments later his comrade responded from down another branch of the mine. "Only two more iron ore, Rusher." A few seconds later, Rusher heard the sound of Mitch's pick go back to work. They had abandoned the 'Sir' and 'Lieutenant' crap months ago. No need when they are with each other 24/7 and have relied on each other for survival for months.

Rusher turned back to the wall he was working on, reluctant to go back on working. He had expected that they would have found at least a few diamonds at this point. They had been digging for over two days, hardly going more than ten blocks an hour in these conditions. The mine was hot, very hot, and on top of that, they only had a couple damaged iron picks. They were hardly even finding enough iron to make new ones.

They had been struggling through the territory of the savages in hopes of eventually getting out far enough to set up a small camp and get established, but had taken two weeks, alone, to get out of the wasteland of spawn.

Mitch estimates that they have traveled about thirty-five thousand blocks so far. Animals were rare and the ones they found were scrawny, so they rationed their food hard. They also needed more ores to go any further, but lacked the energy to do it efficiently.

He took another puff of breath, letting sweat drip from his brown hair under his helmet onto his slender, light skinned face before rising his pick back up and swinging it down to break another chunk of a block away.

As he saw another chunk hit the ground, he got that feeling again. A feeling like he shouldn't be here. Like the land doesn't want him to be, not just the savages, but the land itself. There was something off about it. Something evil.

He slammed his pick back into the stone. It stuck. He pulled on it for a few raging seconds before it came loose and he fell onto his unarmored butt. He yelped in pain as a sharp rock jabbed him. He cursed it before standing back up, exhausted, checking himself for injury. He was fine besides a small scrape. He went back to mining.

They wouldn't have to be doing this, mining, if their ship hadn't capsized in a storm the night before they landed.

His mind wandered back, months ago, when they arrived at a new land, never seen before by the world. They had pulled up to massive sea bordering mountains then followed the coast to see if they could find an entrance to the landmass. It was the middle of the night when they came across what the savages call "Spawn". The crew of about two hundred-fifty men and women had unanimously decided to wait until morning to venture onto land, it was too dark after all. It was that night when the storm hit.

Rusher picked up pace as the memory of the events that had run through his head time and time again, came back.

* * *

Rusher stayed awake all night that night, despite his officers urging him to get some sleep before the big day the next morning but he couldn't. This was the dawn of the day that Farchon extended its reaches beyond the northern ocean, the dawn of Farchon becoming a thousand-year empire.

The storm came from the mountains…hidden from view by their ungodly height. He alerted the crew to the sudden intensity of the storm. In a matter of minutes, people were rushing for the life boats. Rusher and Mitch urged all the crew and soldiers onto the life boats before them. Before anyone could react, wind tore one of the sails down which led a chain reaction to the hull of the ship, tearing it in half. Rusher fell and slammed into the deck as the ship started capsizing, the life boats not yet deployed. He grabbed the railing as the deck tipped past forty-five degrees. The rain whipped him as his hand started slipping from the railing, the only thing stopping him from falling into the raging ocean which at this point was full of debris and sailors, trying to grab onto something to float on. He couldn't hold on much longer.

* * *

The pickaxe slammed into the stone at a higher rate as Rusher angrily recalled that night. Stone shards fell away from the front of his pick. He placed another torch onto the wall as the tunnel started to get dark. The sweltering heat from them wasn't helping. A trail of sweat fell down his face as he took another slumped rest against the wall.

Twelve iron ore. Eighteen coals. That was all they had between the two of them. The two military men were utterly shocked when they staircased straight down to diamond level, only to hit an old mine tunnel. The entirety of the underground of this land seemed to be almost completely mined out…even thirty-five thousand blocks from spawn. It had been the same story every time they stopped to mine. Abandoned mines were eerily common.

Resources in this place were rare…very rare. It was unlike anything Rusher had ever seen in his forty-three years of life and twenty-five years of military service. No conditions were ever this dire.

Rusher set down his pick and took a few more breaths before turning his head and calling to Mitch. "Mitch! How about you say we end this for today. Let's go to the surface and get some fresh air; see what else is around."

He didn't need to be asked twice. The slightly husky man clad in iron boots and helmet came out of his side tunnel with his makeshift pack slung around his back which carried the ores, dragging his pick at his feet. He made his way back towards the staircase. Rusher hiked his own bag up off the tunnel floor and followed his friend.

When they made their way to the surface, a withering forest unveiled in front of them. Rusher soaked in the fresh air but the smell of the mine was stuck in his sinuses. They plopped down furnaces and smelted their iron. Only enough for a pair of leggings and another pick. They already had swords but weren't getting much use out of them since there were almost no animals. Plus, even with each of their extensive fighting experience, they wouldn't be able to land a hit on the savages since they all seemed to have enchanted diamond gear and elytra.

Rusher thought back to the few encounters they had with the savages. Something was different about them. They seemed to be able to do things Rusher had seen no person ever do before. They seemed to have inhuman speed, strength, accuracy, and uncanny tracking skills. Most of the time the group was running from them so Rusher couldn't get a good glimpse at any of them so maybe he just imagined it…but he didn't. He had a cool head and a smooth eye, that's why he's general and what he saw them do wasn't imaginary.

* * *

Right before his hand slipped off the railing of the ship, another hand grabbed his wrist. Rusher looked up to see Mitch above him, left hand holding Rusher, right hand holding a rope that was tied to a mast…a mast that just started to break.

"Mitch!" Was all Rusher could yell before the splintering sound rattled the ship. The mast fell towards them. Rusher mustered up the strength and, in a flash, brought his other hand up to grab Mitch and pulled the surprised lieutenant off the deck. Rusher fall backwards towards the violent sea with Mitch in his grasp.

They crashed to the ocean only to immediately get slammed by a wave. Lightning cracked overhead, connecting with the ship and nearly deafened the two. Debris hit Rusher in the head, dazing him, knocking him out.

Rusher woke up to darkness, then shot up with a gasp, taking massive breaths. He was on land. Mitch was next to him along with four other crew members, completely soaked, rain still drenching them.

Rusher rolled over and spat up water from his lungs then rolled back, still taking in big gulps of air. Mitch was just staring out at sea, unmoving. Rusher slowly followed his gaze. His heart sank. A bright light emanated from the sea, his ship. Fire had enveloped what was remaining above the water, casting a reflection of orange onto the raging water. No life could be seen amongst all the wreckage.

"We're the only survivors." Was all Mitch said as he remained still, breaking Rusher out of his trance.

* * *

Rusher sat back in the forest as he watched the furnace cackle as it smelted their iron. He thought about the four survivors from the sinking that didn't survive the trip out of Spawn. One starved, another fell down a chasm to his death, another was picked off by a savage. It was just a miracle that he and Mitch had made it out of that confrontation alive. As stated before, he had noticed that the savages have uncanny tracking skills…

Rusher had sent the last, fourth soldier back to the shore of spawn to grab one of the remaining life boats that survived the ship sinking. He told him to travel back to Farchon and spread the news of the land and to send reinforcements. He probably didn't survive the trip back. A three-month trip by ship was difficult as it was, but alone with no supplies by row boat?

He cursed himself. He should have sent two of his men back, not just one. Idiot! No one should have to spend three, maybe more, months alone with only a makeshift fishing pole to provide for them and to hope for rainwater for fresh water. Inhumane.

But he couldn't give up his quest to settle on this land. Hundreds had died to recognize his dream of making Farchon stronger and extending its reaches. They can't die in vain. He just has to have faith that his message reaches Farchon safely.

* * *

The fire burned bright as two hundred-thirty-nine lives perished. It was like a memorial.

Rusher stared at the ship, burning bright through the rain. It continued to sink as he watched, all their supplies and men going along with it.

He stared on, a deep chasm opening in his soul. He had lost men before, lots. But this was different, like this was a rude awakening to this place…this…unnerving place. Rusher got goosebumps.

The ship didn't completely sink for a long time. It stayed floating for over half an hour. The remaining crew stared on in complete silence the entire time. Right before the ship sunk completely, still burning just as brightly as when he had first seen it, Rusher could only think one, little, insignificant thought.

 _How is the fire able to burn so brightly, through all this torrential rain?_


	4. Worth

The horse chomped on the golden apple happily as his owner wiped her hands off. She took a long stretch considering she had been riding for over four hours, traveling from the east to make her way towards spawn.

Once she was done stretching she took a better look at her surroundings. A plains biome expanded out in front of her, devoid of any flower or speck of tall grass.

 _Getting closer_ she thought as she gazed towards the horizon grimly. There were only about forty-thousand blocks left until the wasteland of spawn would come into view. The traveler adjusted her diamond chest plate before unstrapping her horses saddle bag and pulling out an enderchest. She plopped it down onto the ground and opened it, taking inventory once more over her marvelous collection of items.

Two stacks of enchanted golden apples, two more sets of diamond armor, two more swords, two more bows, three stacks of cooked steak, multiple stacks of diamond blocks and various other tools.

She gave a slight grin, a feeling of pride overtaking her grim thought of spawn as she picked the chest back up with a silk touch pick and put it back in the saddle bag. Turning back to the horizon, the sun was starting to set on the shriveled trees of the forest in the distance that dotted it. It's bright orange radiance fluctuated into purples then into blues the further up the sky went.

She took a deep breath as a light blow of wind buffered her. It was just so peaceful here. Here! This place was peaceful. The traveler chuckled to herself at that thought. That was a first. Dozens have probably died within view of this spot. But now, it seemed like the nicest place in the world. In that moment, nothing mattered. Everything was right. All her worries and problems were irrelevant.

Closing her eyes, she drew in a big gulp of air before hopping back onto her mount.

"Alright, Zar. Let's get going." Feeling a kick in the side, Zar dug his hooves into the dirt, kicking debris up as he sprinted down into the plains.

She had left base a week ago to investigate rumors that waves of people were appearing at spawn. Tricky business. Newcomers always spelled trouble for the ones already here, although they never get far in their conquests although she had never really minded newcomers. The never bothered her. Regardless, this land is not for the weak. It tears at you, mentally, physically, and spiritually until you are a husk of your former self. Most see battle before the age of ten. Those who survive are granted acknowledgement. Those who can set up establishments themselves and start groups of their own are not respected but rather, on the radar of others. Of course, that can be for the better or for worse. But no one gets granted respect until…well…they just have to earn it through the one language the people of this land know, fire.

Needless to say, the native people could take arrows in their body all day long without falling. Any newcomers to this land do not stand a chance.

The rider pushed Zar harder to jump over a small creek before landing on the other side, zipping up a small rise.

Her gaze swept the tree line as she closed in on it. An ambush could be in there waiting of someone to ride by. She would sense them before she got close but regardless, if she became outnumbered, her minutes would be numbered in turn. Her vigilant brown eyes bounced from tree to tree, getting ready for anyth-

The rider unsheathed her sword in an instant and pushed off the stirrups of Zar's saddle as a flash of light shined in the corner of her vision. She backflipped off her mount and brought her sword across her chest as she flipped through the air, deflecting the arrow midflight. She landed elegantly on the ground, sword to her side.

 _Where did that come from? How did I not sense the attacker?_

She didn't have another moment to think as another arrow shot at her from her 11 o'clock. She spun out of the way, sticking close to the ground, leaving a circle of dust in her wake.

Her heart fluttered as she looked for the attacker. _Where?!_

"You are as fast."

The rider gasped inwardly as the unseen assailant spoke, eerily close. Male.

"Most do not dodge my arrows, let alone twice."

Just then, a figure started materializing twenty blocks from her, clad in Diamond armor.

The woman knitted her brows, trying to make sense of the situation. _Invisibility potion? No. I wouldn't have seen his armor._

The man coalesced in front of her. His enchanted diamond armor matched his bow and dual swords hanging from each hip and two swords crossed on his back. His face under his helmet was cloaked in some strange darkness.

Still crouched on the ground like an animal ready to pounce, the rider spoke "How were you invisible? I should have seen your armor and bow if you were using a potion." She could sense that this man was dangerous, probably more skilled than any opponent she had ever fought before. He had the high ground by a tad and was standing there confidently. She cursed herself for letting herself get into this position. She needed to escape but first, needed to slow down and assess the situation.

The cloaked figure strapped his bow across his lower back then stood there like a statue, silent for a few moments. "Since you were able to so expertly dodge arrows form The Silencer I will enlighten you." He said as he patted his bow. "Let us see. How do I put his? You could not see me because I was testing out a new experiment."

The woman on the ground squinted. _New experiment?_

"Ah. I see you are interested." He said with a slight chuckle. "I am working on an invisibility II potion and as I just discovered here, it seems to work pretty well."

 _Invisibility II? Can there even be such a thing?_ "Why would you tell me this? I'm guessing this is something you would want to keep secret."

"That is a true statement. I can tell you are a smart woman, so it truly is a shame that I will have to kill you."

 _Not good_

"Pardon me for my rudeness." The man said as he gripped just below the hilts of the two swords on his hips.

The woman tightened her grip on her sword. _What do I do?_

He pushed up on the cross guards of his swords with his thumbs to unsheathe them.

 _Here he comes_

"What is your name?" He paused. The question surprised her. "What-is-your name."

She started to say something but noting came out, she thought she was about to be attacked.

The shadowed man tilted his head and spoke again in an unusually high-pitched voice. "It is rude to ignore the one who is about to fight you. I will ask again. What is your name?"

She stared at the dark space just below his helmet. "Idra."

"Alright Idra; I will come at you now. If you win, you may go on your way." Idra's gaze hardened. "If I win, you come with me as my partner."

Idra opened her mouth and responded. "What's your name?"

The man chuckled. "Win and find out."

Without another moment's hesitation, the man flung his hip swords out of their sheathes, sending them spinning high in the air. Idra's attention was on them for one moment too long. In a flash, her opponent was in front of her and hit her chin with the hilt of a sword. The two fighters flew backwards, his other sword swung down onto her armored wrist, making her lose grip of her sword. She dropped heavily onto her back, getting the breath knocked out of her. When she opened her eyes after the impact, there was a sword to her neck, another to her belly. He was completely pinning her down. A second later, two swords fell down from the sky, landing on each side of her head, centimeters away.

Idra laid there, gasping at the swiftness and precision of this man's attack. They stared at each other for a long minute before the man spoke, his weight pressing down on her body. "I win." He got off her, stood up and sheathed all his swords.

Idra gawked, speechless. The man turned and dusted off his armor. "Looks like you are coming with me. Grab your mount and meet me five hundred blocks north east from here."

Idra stood up and grabbed her sword. "I can't go with you!" She yelled. The man stopped and looked over his shoulder. "I have base mates who care for me! I have things to do and I have no intention of going with you anywhere!" Honestly, she was just infuriated that she lost a fight so badly. That had never happened before. "Just go back to your petty experiments and do whatever you do! Plus, I don't know what you want from me, you could just want me for an experiment or something of the like. How am I even supposed to work for someone who I don't even know their name- "

"Do you know why I spared your life?" His eerily calm voice shocked her. She stayed silent.

"I see value in you. From what little I saw, your stance, I like your fighting style, you are clearly a talented fighter. In addition, I can tell you are an intelligent woman, Idra."

Idra was taken by surprise. She felt her cheeks blushing… _NO! Stop!_

He continued to look over his shoulder. "I do not want you as a slave. I see value in you. I want you to become my partner in this cruel world."

She looked down at the ground. "I-I can't just leave my-""What have your base mates really done for you?"

Idra shot her head up at that question but stayed silent.

"They sent you out here, alone, to spawn, which is arguably the most dangerous place on the continent to do what? To deliver a message? To do a bit of reconnaissance?" His words started to stir something insider her.

 _What_ have _they done for me?_ Idra thought.

"With me, you will have something they could never give you." Idra stared, curious, lowering her guard. "Worth."

That word hit her. She stayed silent for a few more moments. The quad swordsman stared at her over his shoulder, still as a statue. A minute of silence passed.

His head turned back towards the sunset horizon. "Meet me where I told you. I'll be waiting." With that he sprinted with uncanny speed, into the distance.

Idra stood there, watching where he disappeared. She had never felt like this before. For once, her guard was down.

Worth.

That word kept bouncing around in her head.

Idra flinched and shook her head as she put up her guard again. What was she thinking? She couldn't just leave her base mates without even a goodbye. They had done so much together. The time where they took out that group attacking their base, she dug around behind them and drew their arrow fire away from her mates while they attacked when their backs were turned, that time when they raided all that food from someone's stash that they found. Her base mates took all the food back to base and told her to stay behind and wait for the owner to come by and kill him…how they never let her sleep on the good beds…how they always give her the scraps…how she never gets to pick her job…

A moment of enlightenment filled Idra as she realized that from the moment she was taken in she was just being…used.

Suddenly her own thoughts flew back to her: ' _Most see battle before the age of ten. Those who survive are granted acknowledgement. Those who can set up establishments themselves and start groups of their own get their name thrown around. Of course, that can be for better or for worse. But one does not get granted respect until…well…they just have to earn it through the one language the people of this land know, fire.'_

She closed her eyes as the swordsman's words flew back to her: "I see value in you. From what little I saw, your stance, I like your fighting style, you are clearly a talented fighter. In addition, I can tell you are an intelligent woman, Idra… I see value in you. I want you to become my partner in this cruel world."

Worth.

She was never worth anything. Her parents saw her as a nuisance, casting her out at the age of eight, all she had was a wooden sword. She wandered the harsh wilderness until she was around ten or eleven where a wanderer saw her and took her in, but his gaze was cruel and unwelcoming. She didn't like him from the start. He taught her how to fight but abused her badly, starved her, made her join a contraband of child soldiers. By the age of sixteen or seventeen, she managed to escape with a few others, but the senior soldiers tracked them down with dogs and horses…she was the only one who survived and escaped. For the next five years, she slowly made her way south where she met her current comrades.

Comrades. ' _Tuh'_

But now it's evident that they were just using her for the last couple years.

Idra clenched her fist and threw her sword into the ground where it stuck. She wasn't an emotional person; this world doesn't allow space for tears. She tried holding them in, but one rebel fell down her dirty cheek. She hit her leg as punishment for shedding a tear.

'Idra… I see value in you. I want you to become my partner in this cruel world.' His words rebounded in her mind. "He's different." She whispered to herself. "He'll be the one to give me worth."

With one last sniffle she dislodged her sword from the ground and whistled for Zar. The beautiful white and gray speckled horse galloped out of the forest and strutted to her side. "What a good boy. You ran away just like I taught you" She laughed lightheartedly as she patted his neck. "If anything, you'll always love me." Zar let out a happy bray of agreement. Idra laughed as she mounted him. She let out a deep breath. "Alright Zar, we're starting anew." With that, she pulled on the reins, turned and headed north east.

When she arrived in the mostly withered forest at the spot the swordsman had said, she dismounted and looked around.

"Up here." His voice came from above. Idra's pupils dilated as she looked up through the branches. He was squatted on a high up branch, looking out towards the horizon. "Hurry."

She glanced at the tree trunk and saw many foot and handholds. She made her way up to the branch and squatted next to him.

"I'm glad you decided to join me." He said nonchalantly.

"It is my best interest." Idra said firmly. She cast a sidelong glance at him then followed his steady gaze out onto the purple landscape, the sun nearly set. There was a small dirt hut sitting about half a thousand blocks out. A crafting table sat outside of it. A newcomer base?

The swordsman pointed directly at the hut, his left arm draped over his knee. "I have never experienced war before but that is what will cause one like this land has never seen before." By 'this' he was referring to the existence of the dirt hut. "We have had newsucks before, but mostly in controllable portions. I've spoken to a few of the newsucks of the new wave. This time it will be different. There are many where they come from and not only that. There is something in their hearts that is unique; something this land has never seen before."

Idra gazed at the dirt hut, not understanding.

"The people of this land have a will of fire and are the greatest security system it could ever have. It is yet to be broken and has only grown stronger over the centuries. It has been impenetrable."

Idra slowly shifted her gaze to the strange cloak of darkness below his helmet.

"Individually these newsucks are weak but even they- "he turned towards Idra. "Will push this will of fire to its brink. It will truly be tested."

Idra could not break his gaze until he turned back to the dirt hut. "I also host this will and want to do everything to protect this land form those who do not deserve it, do not understand it." His hands hung limply over his knees. His emotionally charged words did not match his body language. "If the natives are to ensure that these newsucks do not take one more tree, one more piece of food, one more block, we must band together unlike we have never done before. Out divisions of the past must be put aside."

Silence ensued after that. His words sunk deep into Idra's heart…only to be met with opposition. All this land had ever done for her is chew her up and spit her out. Maybe some fresh blood in this place would do it good-.

"Idra." Hearing her name called jarred her out of thought. "Do you feel the same?" Not knowing what to say, she just nodded. "Good." He responded. "I have heard reports that some newsucks have found The Valley of Wheat."

 _The Valley of Wheat?!_ Images flashed through her mind of the one time she was there while on a mercenary expedition. Endless hills and hills of wheat, filled with giant sandstone sphinxes and pyramids topped with fire. A legendary landmark that all natives leave alone, even the worst griefers of the land have kept their hand off of it. It was created by a legendary antient builder.

The swordsman stood up on the branch. "Apparently they are harvesting the wheat for food and tearing the sphinxes apart for their own buildings. I want to get there and eliminate them before they can spread word of its location. We are not too far away, we should make it there within a day and a half."

Newcomers are tearing apart The Valley of Wheat? That has been there for centuries and they're just using it for their own consumption?! That's disgusting.

The swordsman jumped off the branch and fell twelve blocks below and landed neatly. He whistled, and a strong black steed romped out of the brush.

Idra stood up and gazed down. "Where is your hideout anyway?"

He mounted his horse before answering. "Valley of Wheat first."

Idra blew air through her nose in amusement before taking one last glance out at the dirt hut and the lone figure lying still next to the hut. Starvation probably.

She climbed down the tree and mounted Zar. Her partner pulled a splash potion of speed out of his saddle bag and threw it on the ground between their horses. The glass bottle exploded on the ground, propelling potion-stuff all over them. He then kicked his horse in the side who ripped out of the forest and back onto the plain.

The corner of Idra's mouth curled up as she felt something rise up in her chest before sprinting after the skilled swordsman. New life filled her veins as she focused on the beautiful wind whipping across her face. She had found her place.

She had found her purpose.


	5. Goodbye, Hello

Gray. Endless stone. The lack of life. Only special places like that can exist on earth. Only special sequences of events can lead to this.

The wary traveler picked his way around large crags and broken rocks, an endless wasteland stretching to the gray skied horizon. Confusion was all there was. He stopped in front of a small stone lying on the ground and just stared at it. _What is this place?_ He stopped to pick it up and then just stared at it in blank contemplation.

A hand on Kayden's shoulder snapped him out of his daydream. "Hey! At least we found this wooden sword just lying on the ground!" Jonny said, admiring the dull, dirty excuse for a weapon in his left hand as he passed, Lich just in front of him, and Gamma taking up the rear. Kayden shook his head as he threw the rock onto the ground. "I left home, green hills, and sunshine, for this?" Anger started to swell up in his belly.

He heard Lich stop in his tracks. "This probably isn't all there is." He said as he turned his head back towards the stragglers. "It has to end…somewhere. We just need to find it…for Farchon."

With a short puff of breath Kayden picked his head back up and followed Lich. Gamma came up next to Kayden and Jonny, brushing arms with Kayden. "He's right! We'll find green hills and sunshine before long!" She said with a smile.

 _We better._ They had been traveling for three hours now, not seeing one block of grass, nor one animal.

Lich spoke again with a lighthearted attitude as he threw his hands behind his head. "I'm not worried." _I wish I could be as optimistic as you._ Kayden thought with a hint of envy. He quickly shook that feeling off. Lich is just being upbeat for the others, he seems like a pretty good guy. Kaden's glad he decided to join their group.

Jonny started getting too happy with his sword and swung it in front of Kayden's face. Kayden had to lean back to not get his face sliced off. But to be honest, it probably would have just bruised him.

"Jonny! Watch it!"

Jonny's head snapped to Kayden. "Oh, whoops." He said with a small laugh. The others joined in on the laughter which even got a small chuckle out of Kayden himself.

Suddenly, Kayden's stomach grumbled, bringing him back into the gravity of the situation. "We need to find food before it gets too late."

"I was thinking the same thing." Lich added. "We should find some other Farchonians and see if anyone has started a base of operation anywhere."

"Good plan." Jonny agreed with a quick jab to the air. "We should have stuck with some of the others from the ship.", seemingly half interested with the situation and instead just too busy mastering swordsmanship.

"Maybe so." Kayden sighed. "But there has to be a camp somewhere. It has to be pretty close-"

Kayden got cut off by a high-pitched wailing sound in the distance. Everyone froze. Jonny even stopped his swinging.

"What was that?" Gamma asked. No one answered.

It sounded again, followed by human screams, followed by the sound of explosions. It was coming from somewhere up ahead, through some tall cobblestone formations.

"We have to check it out!" Jonny said, whipping around to Kayden, serious. "It sounds like people are in trouble!"

The mood of the group suddenly turned grave. Without another moment's hesitation, Lich bolted forward, bounding over gaps and making his way toward the commotion.

"What in the world is-" Kayden was cut off when Jonny turned away and ran after Lich, leaving him with Gamma.

"Damnit, come on." Was all Gamma said before running after the three. With a curse, Kayden followed in their footsteps, climbing the pile of cobblestone in front of him. On his way up, a shadow passed over him. He glanced up to only catch an object flying above him out of the corner of his vision.

 _What was that?_

"Kayden!" Jonny screamed from the top of the pile. Goosebumps prickled all over his skin as he heard his friends distressed wail. He felt his pupils dilate. He's never heard Jonny yell like that.

Kayden scrambled to the top of the pile. A large expanse of relatively flat, hole riddled stone opened up in front of him. He shoved his way between Lich and Gamma to see what was happening. The high-pitched sound happened again. Kayden tracked the sound to its source. His breath caught in his throat.

"W-What…" he couldn't formulate a sentence. About two hundred blocks out, two dozen or so people were scattering like bugs evading a predator. Some were already dead. The predator: A huge black mass flew around over the terrified people, shooting what looked like bombs at them. They stood no chance. The bombs flew through the air at an astonishing speed and with pinpoint accuracy, striking person after person, leaving their bodies in pieces, strewn over the uneven, hard ground. The thing flew from person to person, screeching and wailing like a machine.

A lump formed in Kayden's throat. Lich took a step back from the ledge leading down to the flat. Gamma covered her mouth, unblinking as tears trailed down her face. Jonny stood at the ledge, gripping his sword so tightly, he might break it. Anger stretched across his face.

"Who brought that thing here?" He asked with rage in the back of his voice.

"We need to go, NOW!" Lich yelled as he gripped Gamma's wrist and started backing up, back down the pile. "They're goners. There's nothing we can do. It's hard but we must go."

Kayden ducked as a rogue bomb flew right over their heads. He picked his head back up. "Go!" He yelled to the others as he started retreating.

"Jonny!" Kayden turned around to make sure his friend was in tow only to see him drop down the ledge, straight for the monster. "Jonny!" He screamed as he scrambled back up the pile. How could he do this?! He'll get killed! Jonny leaped from stone to stone as he sprinted toward the monster with his wooden sword, never breaking stride. "That idiot!" He and Lich yelled simultaneously.

Kayden started to push himself up to go after Jonny. But couldn't. _What's wrong with me? Don't I want to save him?_

Without warning, dust and wind buffered his right side as someone rushed past him. Jonny looked up, shocked. Lich bounded down the ledge, going after Jonny, leaving Kayden speechless. He watched as the two ran straight toward the conflict. Already, Lich was gaining on Jonny

What he saw made his stomach drop. The monster turned toward Jonny.

 _No…_

With all the willpower he had, Kayden stood up and ran after them. He slid down the rocky ledge, nearly falling over but he regained balance and sprinted on, leaving Gamma behind. He looked ahead. Lich had nearly caught up to Jonny who was only about a hundred blocks away, but the monster was making his way straight for Jonny. A few remaining survivors were passing him on his way, yelling in fear. Only a few remained. Some made it to the margins and probably escaped.

 _This is not good._

"Jonny, get out of there!" Kayden yelled at the top of his lungs. Jonny is going to get hurt. Images of the devastated bodies flew through his mind. Fear for his friends pulsed through his veins. Lich needs to stop him.

For a split second, Kayden saw something, rather, someone out of the corner of his vision, sitting in the shadows under a ledge on the side of the expanse. Is that…diamond armor? Then the figure moved and was gone. It happened so quickly, it could have been Kayden's imagination. He shook it off and refocused.

Kayden suddenly slipped on something slippery and fell straight onto his back with a loud "oof". He looked down to see himself in a puddle of blood, with a body strewn over the block next to him, flesh hanging off its face. Kayden scrambled to his feet, horrified and shocked. His adrenaline was the only thing keeping him from not being able to stand.

His head whipped back to his friends. The monster shot a black bomb straight at Jonny. Despair hit Kayden's heart. "Why, Jonny? Why?"

Lich came out of nowhere and pushed Jonny to the side. Hope flared in Kayden's heart for a second. But only a second. Lich got hit directly with the bomb, exploding in a cloud of fireless smoke. "Lich!"

The monster seemed to lose interest and turned around to go after another straggler. Kayden pushed himself up and ran for Lich and Jonny, dread tearing at him. As he approached, all he could see was Jonny kneeling next to Lich, crying.

Kayden stopped in his tracks. Lich's whole left side was blown off, blood was gushing out. The rest of his body was covered in gray ash.

Jonny shot his insane glare at Kayden. "Help me drag him into this cave!" It was then he realized that Lich was still alive, he was completely conscious, looking around like nothing had happened. He was in shock.

 _What a horrible scene but…how is he still alive?_

"Help me!" Jonny sobbed as he tried lifting Lich's body on his own, failing in getting a grip on him.

Kayden rushed into the crater created by the explosion, and carefully scooped his hands under Lich's remaining shoulder, not mining the pool of blood that he was sitting in. Jonny gripped his leg and put an arm under his butt and the two hoisted their friend of only a few hours, up. He was too light for a fully-grown man…that's what losing half your body will do. Tears started welling up in Kayden's eyes as they retreated down a cave in the hole ridden ground. After getting deep enough as to not see outside anymore, the two gently placed their dying friend down on the ground.

Lich's remaining good eye wandered over to Jonny.

"I'm so sorry!" Kayden yelled as he shoved his face into Lich's shirt. "It should have been me! You weren't supposed to jump in! I didn't ask for it! Why!"

While looking at Lich's expressionless face, Kayden noticed something. It wasn't ash covering his face, the dust was his flesh literally…flaking away. _What was that thing?_

Jonny's cries didn't let up. "Lich, I am so, so sorry. This isn't fair. Not fair, not fair!" Kayden didn't know what to say. Lich was just lying here, completely thrown aside like a piece of trash for Wednesday pick-up. This isn't what a human being should look like. Kayden didn't know how he was still alive.

"I-I can save you!" Jonny choked. He ripped off his own t-shirt and pushed it against Lich's armless shoulder, attempting to stop the bleeding, Lich just stared at him, mouth covered in blood. It was no use; the shirt was only covering a small part of Lich's body that was losing blood. Jonny's attempt was pitiful and sad. Jonny shook as he looked down, unable to form words, nearly completely covered in Lich's blood.

That's when Kayden's real tears came. Lich just laid there, bleeding and flaking away, staring at Jonny with uninterested eyes.

The sound of Gamma's wet gasp sounded at the entrance of the tunnel, the sound of the monster, still screeching in the distance. Gamma kneeled slowly next to Jonny as he gripped Lich, head down.

"I'm sorry." Jonny said one more time. The three sat there with Lich. Maybe because they just didn't know what to do, maybe just trying to accompany him in his final moments, the guy who they've only known for a couple of hours.

"Jonny." A weak voice said. The three shot their heads up to see Lich with his mouth open. Jonny's breath wavered as he choked back a sob. Blood welled at the corner of Lich's mouth as he spoke. "It's not your fault." Jonny sat, wide-eyed, taking in his words. "I chose to push you out of the way. That was my choice-" He spat up blood from deep in his throat, straight into the air, splattering all over him and the others. His face scrunched up as he struggled to hold onto consciousness. Kayden laid a hand on his shoulder.

After a few heavy breaths, he spoke again. "Don't live your life thinking this was on you. Never stop caring for others, never stop trying to protect them. Next time, just have more than a wood sword." Jonny nodded his head, trying to hold back tears.

Lich's gaze slowly drifted over to Gamma. "You remind me of my mother, Gamma. I've only known you for a short while, but I can tell you are protective and caring. There is a strength in you, you don't even know you have yet. Don't let othesr treat you as the fragile woman who can't care for herself."

"I won't." Gamma whispered, unable to take her eyes off Lich.

Finally, he looked straight up at Kayden. He could hardly hold back the tears. "I wish I could have spent more time with you. I thought we could have grown to be really good friends, but I guess that will never happen. Don't be so depressed all the time, be hopeful. For these two."

He took a short pause and coughed again. His remaining eyelid had completely disintegrated and was compiling in a pile on the side of his nose. "Also, Gamma really likes you. I could tell that right away. You should be nicer to her, she just wants you to notice her." He fell silent.

"We can-" "Go." Lich interrupted Kayden. "The monster is away for the moment. Now is your time to escape." Kayden just stared at him, scared. He spoke again, weaker than before. "It's okay. I can't feel any pain, I am going to die. Just leave me here. I need to make my peace."

Kayden didn't know what to say but deep down, he knew Lich was right. Kayden stood up and put a hand on Jonny's shoulder. "We should go. He needs this time alone." After a long moment, Jonny stood up, turned, and walked towards the entrance.

Gamma stood up and said one final thing to Lich. "I hope you make your peace." Then went the same way Jonny went.

Kayden looked down at Lich one last time. Lich stared right back. Kayden opened his mouth, but shut it once he realized there was nothing he could say, then made his way up the tunnel, leaving Lich to die in peace.

The three escaped from the tunnel, keeping the monster in their peripheral. Their escape was hazy and Kayden didn't really remember much as they tore across the landscape, escaping from the flat. Massive lavacasts loomed all around them, the setting sun casting wide shadows over the dead landscape.

The trio climbed the ledge on the other side of the flat, still hearing the screams of people in the far distance, the monster now out of sight. Kayden took one quick glance over his shoulder back in the distance at the cave they left Lich in. He stopped and stared. A diamond-clad person stood at the entrance of the cave before dropping down into it.

Kayden balled his fists in anger. _You better not do anything to Lich. Leave him alone!_

"He's probably gone already." Gamma said in a sad tone. "Let's just get going."

Kayden closed his eyes and put his head down, quelling his anger. Why was he so upset about the death of a person they just met? Why were they _all_ so upset? Why did he consider him his friend? What does it mean to be a friend? Was that word, _friend_ , just something he threw around to anyone who showed him kindness? Does that word have no value to it?

Kayden dropped to the ground and slammed his fist on the cold stone.

"Gamma is right." Jonny said, dejected as he faced away from them and the direction they came from. "We just need to get out of here." No emotion was in his voice. Then Jonny just started walking in the direction of a massive tower of cobblestone covered in withering vines. There was nothing left to say so Kayden just stood up and put his arm around Gamma and walked after Jonny.

It was nearly dark before the sounds of the monster faded into the distance. The group was moving very slowly. Their spirits were low and the terrain didn't help. They hadn't spoken a single word since they left the flat.

Kayden heard Gamma's stomach growl. He knew they were all getting really hungry at this point. Kayden would have brought food of his own but the Farchonian state enforced the rule that as many people be jammed onto each ship as possible, no extra equipment or food allowed. Stupid.

"There has to be a camp somewhere. Or even just other Farchonians." Jonny said from the lead, breaking the hours of silence. He stopped atop a large boulder, creating a silhouette against the half set sun which was still lingering behind overcast skies. Distant lavacasts and towers, kilometers away created a bar graph like effect on the life giving ball of fire.

Kayden stared up at Jonny, a deep orange light being thrown onto his face, dull enough to not have to squint. "We won't survive the night if we stay out here." Jonny paused before continuing. "It would be impossible."

"Then you've stumbled upon the right place." A strange voice said next to them. All three of the weary travelers jumped and looked to the left in fear of unknown danger. Kayden threw himself into a defensive position, ready if anybody jumped out of them.

To their left was another large stone boulder and atop it was a figure in iron armor with his hands on his hips. A sword hung from his hip. His features couldn't be discerned in the oncoming darkness.

"Who are you?!" Jonny yelled up to him. The man swept his open palm down in a welcoming gesture and laughed. "Why I am Chigo of the Nation of Farchon. Come with me for comradery and meager rations." He laughed again, a good jolly laugh. It was almost welcoming.

"Farchon." Jonny whispered as he glanced over to Gamma and Kayden.

The man named Chigo threw his hands up in front of himself. "Bah, pardon me and my rudeness, I do not mean to be so imposing." He then jumped down from the top of the boulder and slid down its side, falling eight blocks to stand next to them. "That's mighty better, now if you don't mind, we are easily spotted on the surface after dark so if you would kindly follow me." Then waved the trio over in his direction, left of the direction they were heading. "Camp is four-hundred blocks away. I was about to turn back for the night but lucky for you I decided to stay out an extra five minutes. Nearly missed you." He said with a smile.

"You're a Farchonian?" Gamma asked, still slightly skeptical of this stranger.

He threw his hands up into the air. "Of course, dear!"

Now that he was closer, Kayden could see that he was probably in his forty's and was a slightly chunky man. He didn't give off much of a hostile aura.

"You said you had a camp?" Jonny asked, wanting to confirm what he just heard.

"Yes. With about fifteen people there currently. Now there is not much time to explain now, I will tell you everything you want to know once we reach camp. Plus, there is a wither in the area."

"We should go." Kayden interjected. For some reason he felt he could trust this man. "This is what we were looking for." Jonny gave a slight nod of approval.

"I agree." Gamma said.

"I did not think you would do anything different!" Chigo said with a wide smile as he turned and started making his way back around the boulder he was just on. The others stood there for a moment, as if not sure exactly what to do.

Chigo looked over his iron-clad shoulder with a smile upon his jolly, light skinned face "Come on, kids, you want to get out of spawn, do you not?"


	6. The Valley of Wheat

After nightfall which was not too much later, Idra and the veiled swordsman stopped at a hole in the ground, a raided dungeon, and set up camp. They shared a meal in relative silence, eating their own rations before the swordsman suggested she take first watch. She agreed to it and climbed back up the mossy cobblestone walls of the dungeon and perched herself atop a tall oak tree nearby. They were in a plains biome so there was no way she could miss anyone approaching. They switched halfway through the night and admittedly, Idra slept with one eye open.

The next morning when Idra fully woke, she found the swordsman with his armor off, polishing their smooth surfaces. Despite the fact he had his armor removed, she still could not see his face. He had a black, skin tight suit on which admittedly looked really comfortable for combat and had a wide brimmed black hat on that covered his face with that strange darkness once more. Idra found herself looking at his chest and arms. He was…in very good shape.

"You are finally up." He said calmly, snapping Idra from her stare. She felt embarrassed. "Slept with your armor on, did you?" He asked as he looked at her. "Is it that you do not trust me?"

"No!" Idra said with a bit of maliciousness. She stood up and brushed herself off. "It's just how I was trained. When on the move, you must be ready for an attack at any time." She looked back at his face…or well…darkness. "You can't afford to be caught off guard."

He nodded as he lowered his head to continue polishing his armor. "I see." His four diamond swords and bow were each leaning neatly against the wall behind him. Her stomach growled. She should get an apple she thought. They may fight later, don't want to fill up too much. She turned toward the wall to climb up and grab an apple from her saddle bag.

Suddenly Idra perked up. _Wait! Who's keeping…._

She spun around "Hey! You are supposed to be keeping watch!"

He didn't stop his polishing with his white rag. "I am." Idra stared at him, wondering if he was joking. "Idra, how far away can your hacks detect people?"

She saw where this was going. "About fifty blocks. Why?"

He looked up at her as he placed his helmet on a clean white rag on the ground. "You make seventy-six, Idra."

"Seventy-six what?"

"You are the seventy-sixth person in a row who I've met whose detection hacks are not as strong as mine."

Idra's eyes widened. "How far can you go?"

"I have been training to get it higher, but as of now, one-thousand-fifty."

Idra gawked at the number he just uttered. She had never heard of anyone so skilled with detection.

"So, you can trust me when I say I was keeping watch." He said as he stood up and stretched. "The sun will be fully up soon. We leave in five minutes of the Valley of Wheat. We have a long day of riding ahead of us." With that he faced away from Idra and began doing squat jumps.

 _Weird dude._ Idra thought as she turned away, glancing at him for as long as she could before climbing up the wall. She met Zar who was tied to the tree. He met her with a happy bray and stomped his hoof. The swordsman's black steed stared at her intensely as she approached. He wasn't even tied to anything, his owner trained and trusted him enough to stay.

After she ate the apple and stretched, her partner seemed to bound out of the cobblestone hole in the ground, fully geared.

They mounted their horses and continued to ride east toward the legendary monument that she only knew from old memories. Endless hills of golden wheat and marvelous architecture, an oasis of food and beautiful buildings in the desert of famine and destruction. The pair rode past a single straggly sheep looking for a new patch of grass. It looked to be on its last limbs. Idra watched as her partner drew his bow, knocked it with an arrow from his saddle quiver and shot a flaming arrow at the animal as they passed. It didn't even squeal. It was dead in an instant. Idra passed its body which began to be consumed by the intense flames.

The swordsman repeatedly threw speed potions onto their horses, making the landscape fly by. Idra's face got chapped before long as the air became cold with the onsets of rain.

It was about two hours before nightfall when the Valley of Wheat first came into view. The first thing she saw over a distant hill, past a withered forest was the peak of a pyramid. She couldn't see any details and at this distance, it just looked like part of the horizon. Idra's partner pulled back on the reins of his horse and came to a sudden halt and jus stared in the direction of the Valley. Idra came to a skidding halt next to him, Zar panting from exhaustion. _You can rest soon, buddy._ His horse seemed fine.

She looked at him, waiting for him to do something.

"I detect three people in the valley. They are moving in a group. Idra, how are your speed hacks?" She gritted her teeth. This is embarrassing.

"I don't have speed hacks." She said defensively.

"I see." He responded. She detected no malice or annoyance in his voice. "How about combat hacks?"

Idra grinned. "That I've trained up quite a bit. On top of my natural skill, I've been graded a class A- fighter. I really have no weaknesses when it comes to combat."

"Except for enemies with four swords." The swordsman chided with a hint of humor in his voice as he turned his horse away and galloped towards a small but thick grove of dead trees.

Idra gritter her teeth again at the thought of her horrible loss. Then, she gave off a slight smile. _Look at that. Mister badass has a sense of humor._

She followed him over to see him dismounting his ride in the thicket and pat it on the cheek.

"This far away?" Idra questioned. She didn't have any speed hacks, so she wouldn't be able to follow him quickly.

"Yes." Was all he said as he took his first few steps out of the thicket.

Idra sighed, hopped off Zar and reached for the lead in the saddle bag but she stopped. She glanced over at the muscular black horse right next to her, munching on a small tuft of grass. She looked back at Zar then put the lead back away. "I trust you, boy." She patted him on the head and ran after her partner.

They approached cautiously as they made their way through the forest. A few minutes later, they crested a hill and the full breadth of the Valley of Wheat opened before them. Idra's breath caught in her throat at the magnificence of the monument. Thirty block tall pyramids adorned with orange clay and netherack, topped with a blazing fire dominated the landscape. Scattered amongst them, sphynxes of the same aesthetic, fifteen blocks tall broke up the massive field of wheat which stretched nearly to the horizon. They rested amongst small grassy hills and the wheat filled in the spaces in-between like water. Millions of stalks of wheat wavered in the slight breeze, the tufts of fire on the pyramids, sphynxes, and other sandstone columns mimicked their movements. She had walked by the Valley of Wheat when she was a child soldier but was too far away from it to get a grasp of its significance. This…this was amazing. In this world she had mostly only seen disorder and destruction. This sight was new to her eyes.

"They are three-hundred-fifty blocks away. We go now." The swordsman slid down the hill and into the Valley of Wheat. The sun behind them, casted long shadows into the valley, the fire lighting up large sections of the shadows.

Idra slid down the hill and waded into the wheat. It was about waist high and she was careful not to trample much of it. He was about fifteen blocks ahead of her, scanning his head methodically left to right. They weren't there for even two minutes before some of the vandalism became visible. A large chunk of one of the bases of one of the sphinxes was mined away, leaving a part of it look very unstable. Nearby, a wide section of wheat had been stripped away without being replanted. The more they walked, the more of this there seemed to be.

"I estimate this to be the work of about thirty newsucks." The swordsman yelled back to her. "But if word of this places location becomes common knowledge, hundreds if not thousands will come here. This is the largest sanctuary nearby and being this close to spawn, this will attract a lot of newsucks looking for their next meal…or thirty. Some have replanted and moved on, but most don't."

Idra clenched her fist as she saw a toppled column they would have to hop over. _Don't they know the importance of this place? How legendary it is?_ She could hear the lapping of waves from the ocean nearby. _That's right, the ocean should be nearby._

Once they had rounded another sphynx, the swordsman held up his hand in a halt motion. He ran up to the next sphynx and peered around the corner. He urgently waved Idra over. She followed suit and heard voices up ahead.

"Ok." He said. "They don't seem to have any detection hacks so its safe to assume they do not have any. There are three of them. Two of them have iron helmets and chest plates. The third is fully clad. They have iron swords, also.

Laughter erupted from around the corner.

"They are eating bread." He continued. "They are not paying attention to their surroundings." Idra awaited her orders. She couldn't wait to punish them for their ignorance and disrespect. "What do you suggest we do, Idra?"

The question caught her off guard. "What?"

"What is your plan. We must act quick. We do not know when they will leave."

"O-okay." Idra looked around the corner. The trio was sitting under a cliffside about thirty blocks away. They had a fire raging in front of them. She pulled her head back. "Go up around this sphynx and get on top of the cliff behind them. I will run up and distract them, begin combat and after, you jump down and attack from behind."

"Sounds good." With that he backed up and sneaked up the hill. She envisioned him in her head, making his way up the hill. Once he reached the top, she took a deep breath and unsheathed her sword from her hip and walked around the corner.

One of the less armored newsucks spotted her first. His face twisted in fear. "S-s-savage!" He yelled as he fell off his sandstone slab seat. The others whipped around immediately. It was three men. They each drew their weapons and held them out in front of them with two hands.

 _Armatures._

"Stay away savage! We've killed four of you already!" The fully armored one yelled at her. He was about two meters tall and seemed relatively fit. He had pudgy features and was by no means attractive, but she couldn't discount him. After all, they got all the way here from spawn.

"Is that why you only have iron gear?" Idra smiled. "No one who survives here has anything but enchanted diamond." Idra stood contrapposto with her hand on her hip. "So which one wants me first?" She said with a devilish smile.

The leader's face tightened. He showed his teeth. "Ok. Guys. Uh, surround her! Get behind her!" The two other hesitated and looked at each other hesitantly. "Argh. Just back me up you noobs." With that the leader stepped forward and swung his sword in a circle in his right hand before resuming his two-handed grip. Idra continued to stand there, contrapposto with her sword down at her side. He scrunched up his face before charging forward and jabbed straight at Idra's chest. She side-stepped his attack easily and pushed his back as he passed, making him fall over on his face behind her. Suddenly, one of the others appeared in the corner of her vision. He ran up and delivered a sideways slash from the left. Idra ducked under and brought her Sharpness four diamond sword up, stabbing it right through his iron chest plate, piercing the metal but not going more than a few centimeters in. The guy screamed as she pulled her sword out. She then swung her sword backward into the face of the leader who got up and was approaching behind her.

Not a moment later, the quad swordsman fell from the sky, slicing the back of the injured guy, killing him. Idra stood up, reading her sword for the third guy but when she looked at him, he was cowering on the ground, sword next to him, begging for mercy.

Her partner walked up to him, only his right hip sword drawn and kicked him in the face, making him fall backwards. He grabbed his face and yelled in pain. The swordsman went over to him and dropped his knee onto his chest, effectively pinning him down, and touched the tip of his sword to his neck, making a small bit of blood dribble down.

"L-let me live…" The newsuck said quietly, trying not to move his neck in fear of decapitation.

"Just answer our questions." The swordsman ordered with authority.

"Okay! Okay, I will." He said meekly with sadness in his voice. He just saw his friends get slaughtered.

"Who told you about this place?"

"One of the other Farchonians has a hidden camp nearby. He's directing us Farchonians to this place for food. We need to eat too ya' know! We're starving-" The swordsman cut him off by adding more weight to his chest. He was actually managing to dent the iron chesplate.

"What is this guy's name and where is his base?"

The newsuck gritted his teeth. He didn't want to say. Idra just stood by and watched.

"Listen, I do not have much patience for people like you. You grief monuments like this with no respect for its history and importance to its people." He had a hint of anger in his voice. "Now tell me, what is his name?" He placed his other hand on the guy's forehead and pushed harder with his sword, making his eyes widen in pain.

"Chigo!" He blurted out. The swordsman stopped pushing harder and pulled out a handkerchief from his side pack. He retracted his sword and pushed the handkerchief against his neck to stop the bleeding. The young man gasped in relief as sweat fell down his face. The half-set sun cast long, dark shadows on the landscape.

 _What is he doing?_

"Good job." The swordsman said. "Now just tell me where he is and I will-" The swordsman paused and he tensed up. Suddenly he threw the handkerchief to the side and grabbed him by his shirt under his armor and pulled him up. "Where is the base!" He screamed at the shocked and confused capturee. "You have ten seconds, or I will kill you!"

 _What happened?_ Idra thought, alarmed. His whole demeanor just changed. He seemed almost…

The swordsman whipped around to her. "Run to the horses now, Idra!"

"What's the problem-"

"They are coming fast, Idra. Go. Now! I will meet you there."

Idra opened her mouth to ask a question. But shut it. Those were orders.

He tossed her a speed potion and she nearly dropped it. "Go Idra!" He yelled as he turned back to the iron guy and slammed him down onto the ground! "Where is it!"

"Thirty-thousand blocks south! Sixteen-thousand blocks west! They live deep underground in spawn! Now let me go!"

Getting what he wanted, the swordsman stood up and ran at Idra, grabbing the potion and threw it at their feet. "Go."

Not understanding what was happening, Idra followed him.

 _Someone's coming?_

The swordsman wasn't using his speed hacks so that Idra could keep up with him, but she could tell he wanted to book it out of there.

"Shit." Idra heard him whisper under his breath as he placed his hand on her chest plate, telling her to stop. "Get ready."

It was then she sensed them. The came so fast she hardly had a moment to react before a dozen silhouettes appeared on the hill to their left. The near set sun obscured their features but Idra could tell that there were twelve of them and they all were on horses and were clad in diamond armor.

"Shit." The swordsman uttered again. _Not good._

Almost in unison, all the riders hopped off their mounts who brayed in an almost aggressive manner. In the blink of an eye, they used speed hacks to surround the duo. Each of them stood about twenty blocks away from them. Shocked, Idra quickly scanned the circle for a route out of there. She clenched her fist as she couldn't find any opening. There was no escape.

They still stood amongst the endless field of wheat.

Idra threw her hand onto her sword hilt but almost immediately, her partner slapped her hand away. _We're not fighting? We're just going to let us get slaughtered or captured?_ Everyone knows what happens to women who are captured in this world.

All of the aggressors seemed to be similar in appearance. All of them had enchanted diamond armor with diamond swords at their hips, except for one with two hip swords and another with a pair of elytra and an enchanted diamond axe. They were all men. Her partner just stood there, not in a readied pose but just like he was…concentrating hard. His head was slightly bowed. He knew exactly what was going on; when you get ambushed, there was only one reason…they want to kill you.

After a few moments of silence one of the aggressors stepped forward…the one with the axe. He was well muscled and had a handsome face. "We took care of that trash you left a few blocks back." He said with an authorative and confident voice.

The swordsman spoke. "I left him because I knew you would take care of him."

The axe wielder laughed lightly. "So you assumed we would catch you?" He took another step forward. "Based on how soon you started moving, I assume one of you two have some amazing detection hacks. Which one is it? Hah, regardless, we've got a member who still is better than you."

 _Better than one-thousand-fifty blocks?_

"You have not killed us yet. What do you want from us?" The swordsman asked. It was a good question. A drop of stress-endused sweat dripped down Idra's forehead.

The smile instantly got wiped off the axe-wielder's face and he tilted his head to the side, inspecting Idra and the quad swordsman. "Sixty-nine." He uttered. "That's how many newsucks I have killed in this new invasion. Based on your actions back at that campsite, you're not a fan of them either." He looked at Idra. "How many of them have you killed, girl?"

Idra gritted her teeth. _She hadn't killed that many._ But she needed them to like her. "Seventeen." She lied.

He squinted at her for a second as if determining whether that was the truth. She must have passed his inspection because he turned to her partner. "And you Mr. Shadow?"

"One-hundred-thirty-seven." Idra caught a gasp in her throat. She also saw the axe-wielder's eyes widen before quickly resuming normal posture.

"So you are quite the fighter I suppose, four swords-man?" He asked.

"To be honest, they do not put up much of a fight."

"Ha ha! Isn't that the truth. I see that you are holding up your duty as a native to kill any newsucks you come across. Regardless of how poor of fighters they are, they still need to be kept under control."

"I agree."

"I still need to test you." The axe wielder said.

 _Not good._

"What is your name, swordsman?" The dual swordsman to their left asked. "I would expect to know the name of such a brutal warrior. But I don't."

Idra's partner's head slowly turned to the left followed by silence. No one spoke as the two multi-swordsmen stared at each other. All eleven of the others from the large group and Idra stared on in rising anticipation. This was their moment.

Moments felt like hours. Then the quad swordsman put his hands on the hilts of his swords. "Beat me and find out." Idra stepped back. They were about to duel it out. Herself along with everyone else around knew that this was their fight and to not intervene. Not a moment later, all of the eleven other natives sat down on their knees, honoring the fight. Not knowing what to do, Idra took a few more steps back.

The dual swordsman grinned profusely. "Ooh I like a bit of a challenge. In less than a minute, I will know your name, fellow warrior. Regardless, let me test you to see if you are worthy of being kept alive, we'll see if that number you spoke of is all fluff."

"This will be over quick." The axe user spoke softly as he grinned.

"What is your name?" Idra's partner spoke to his opponent.

"So rude to ask someone of his name when you won't even reveal your own." He laughed. "I am Razar."

Not a moment later, the dual-swordsman unsheathed his swords and dashed forward faster than the speed of sound at his opponent. A loud CLANG erupted from the fighters. It was almost too fast to see. Dust and wheat flew up from his rapid acceleration and clouded the area around them. They were blocked from view.

 _What powerful hacks!_ Idra thought, amazed. It was silent for a moment as the dust settled. Idra's gaze drew over to the leader. His grin had intensified, and he had his eyes closed, head bowed. Idra's breath caught in her throat. Did her partner lose?!

As the dust settled, a tangle of diamond armor and swords was revealed. Each of them was still standing and had a sword to the others throat. They had each stopped themselves from getting decapitated with their other sword, pressing hard against each other. A collective gasp went around the circle. They were locked in that position, pushing against each other. The quad-swordsman still had his back swords sheathed.

Idra's partner pushed hard on his swords and jumped back five blocks before quickly dashing around his opponent to the right, changing direction in an instant and shot his swords at his side. Razar turned on his heel and parried immediately with one sword, jabbing with the other but her partner was quicker, spinning out of the way, swinging up again at Razar who parried once more, taking step back. Their swords clanged a few more times before they each lunged ten blocks away from each other; all of that taking place in the span of two seconds.

Idra gawked at the level of swordplay. She had never seen anything like it. Her partner brushed off his shoulder as he stood there, unfazed as his opponent stood in a readied position.

The veiled warrior then pointed a sword at Razar. "Make me tell you my name, fellow warrior."

Razar's grin had been wiped off his face and it suddenly got very serious. "In fifty seconds, I will know your name." Razar lunged forward once more, swords trailing behind him as he sprinted low against the ground at his opponent. He slashed his swords up again as another cloud of dust erupted. Suddenly an object flew out of the sky and struck the ground next to the fight. Purple particles flew from the cloud and the quad swordsman coalesced where the object impacted.

 _What?!_

He brought one of his swords back and threw it into the cloud of dust…directly at Razar…

 **Quad-swordsman v. Razar fight To Be Continued…**


	7. A Ray of Hope

The sun had completely set on the craggy, desolate landscape that the adventurers maneuvered through. They stayed hidden in low lying areas, just staying to keep out of sight of any prying eyes looking for a kill. The hardness of the rocky ground and the sharp handholds that had to be used to traverse the terrain mirrored the grueling unwelcoming feeling of the place.

Kayden's eyes hung in a depressive position, matching his shoulders in attitude. The horrible death of Lich was still fresh in his mind, the memories of that event making him sick to his stomach. That combined with the fact that he hadn't eaten in almost twenty-four hours made his insides feel like just as much of an enemy as the natives...the ones he hadn't even run into yet. He had just hear the stories. His eyes drew up to Gamma and Jonny in front of him, following the stranger they just met, Chigo, a fellow Farchonian who promised food and shelter for the night. To be honest, Kayden didn't care if he had to eat a boiled bat, whatever they provide would do. As if on queue, his stomach twisted, letting out a contorted growl like a mangy wolf.

Chigo, a chubby man, looked over his shoulder at the Trio with a smile. "Aah, do not worry my fellows. We will have a bit for you to eat once we arrive. We are almost there, do not fret." And with that he marched on.

Gamma turned back and fell in line with Kayden. "What do you think it'll be like?" She said quietly. She seemed to be a little cautious of their newfound companion.

Kayden chewed on the question for a second, he had been thinking about that since Chigo stumbled upon them. "Well it seems to be a Farchonian outpost. It is probably a pit-stop for people to get out of spawn, like Chigo said."

Chigo's words ran through his head again: "Come on, kids, you want to get out of spawn, do you not?"

Gamma took a deep breath in. "Kayden, there's something I want to say to y-"

"We're here." Chigo said, cutting off Gamma. He quickly glanced around as if looking to see if they had been followed but there wasn't much to see. They descended six or seven blocks and entered a dead-end in a small canyon; whether it was man made or not was indistinguishable. Cobblestone and grass blocks were scattered all over the place and there was no visible doorway to the base. No lavacasts or lavacases were in the immediate area. looking up, Kayden couldn't see any.

Chigo quickly pulled his iron pickaxe off his back and broke down two layers of cobblestone in the wall of the canyon. He turned and ushered them all inside. It was dark but that didn't stop Jonny from stepping in and vanishing. The rest followed and Kayden heard Chigo close up the doorway behind them. He then lit a torch, bringing the small tunnel to life, making shadows dance all over the one wide passage. "Go forward." Chigo instructed. "There are steps in a few blocks. Careful."

Just like he said, about ten blocks later, a sharp staircase led downward. The descent took a while and Kayden could see light at the bottom.

"Let me pass." Chigo ordered then squeezed past them.

They finally reached the bottom which Kayden suspected was close to bedrock. Why did it need to be this far underground? He was pretty sure making it close to the surface would have close to the same effect.

The hallway widened to three wide and about twenty blocks straight ahead was a closed iron door and a small slit in the wall created by an upside-down cobble slab. Chigo walked up and spoke into it. "It is Chigo with three recruits."

Gamma's arm brushed Kayden's as she fell in slightly behind him. "I don't think I trust him, Kayden." She whispered so quietly Kayden thought it could have been his imagination. He instantly got goosebumps at those words. He had some similar thoughts in his head but he decided to push them to the side. Jonny was standing a few blocks in front of them, facing Chigo silently. The wood sword he had earlier was discarded.

Suddenly, the iron door flew open. That door must be Redstone or just a simple push of a button from the person operating it on the other side of the wall he thought. Kayden's heart skipped a beat when it slammed open and Chigo turned and smiled at them. Once the door opened, the sound of hearty laughs, clinking drinks and even some music flowed from the room beyond.

"After you, fellow wanderers." Chigo warmly smiled and waved them in. Jonny looked back at them before turning back and stepping inside. Kayden sighed, grabbed Gamma's hand and followed him in. Once he stepped inside, the aroma of cooking food hit him, making all distraught feelings in his belly dissolve instantly. Warm faces turned toward the group form the tables in the stone walled room.

"New arrivals!" Chigo yelled jollily. "Someone bring these pour souls some food!" He yelled as he waved his open palm toward them. Cheers erupted in the room of grubby as people approached them and started patting them on the shoulders and congratulating them for making it this far.

"Welcome to the hideout!"

"Make yourselves at home!"

"Beetroot stew is being served tonight!"

"You're lucky, we just made up some beds for new arrivals!"

Overwhelmed by the situation, Kayden turned toward Gamma to see that a smile had broken over her concerned face. The tough layer of stress that was on her face a moment ago was broken through. She seemed so relieved to see that her worst fears were not true. These people looked like Farchonians. They even had their accent. Looking at Gamma, he saw her get a tear of joy in her eye. Before he could stop himself, looking at her, his eyes started welling up and a tear of his own fell down his face. He was so relieved! He quickly wiped it up. He was so soft. He chuckled to himself as he greeted and shook hands with the other Farchonians, all of them smiling. Kayden looked over at Jonny who still looked shocked at the quick turn of events. Kayden did have to admit, that it was strange seeing a place like this, not fancy by any means but still, among the wreckage of spawn.

They didn't have to wait too much longer before a couple people brought out wooden bowls filled with steaming beetroot stew. The crowd brought them over to a table and sat them down. They then started to disperse to let them eat in peace. The music Kayden heard earlier seemed to be from a young woman in the corner playing a makeshift guitar. She was humming lightly along with it. It was far from perfect but nothing had ever sounded better to Kayden's ears. Kayden and Gamma slurped down their soup so quickly, they hardly had a chance to savor it. Kayden looked up to the silent Jonny to see he had hardly touched it, he was just staring into his bowl. Before Kayden spoke up, Chigo sat down at their table. Laughter still permeated the room.

"I just spoke to the boss, told her you three have arrived. She seemed excited, we haven't had new recruits in a week. She will come by in a few and fill you in on everything you need to know." With that, Chigo stood up, his iron armor clanking. He winked and turned away.

"Wait, Chigo!" Gamma called after him. He turned.

"Yes, my dear?"

She stood up, ran around the table and squeezed him in a warm hug. "Thank you."

He seemed surprised at first but then smiled warmly and squinted his eyes as he returned the embrace. "Get your belly full." He said as they separated. Kayden nodded and smiled back.

Gamma sat back down and finished her bowl quickly burning her mouth in the process. The two laughed. Kayden moved his eyes over to Jonny across the table who still stared down at his soup. Kayden didn't blame him. They all had a cruddy day, hell, Kayden felt bad himself for laughi-

"How can you laugh at a time like this." Jonny whispered with a hint of anger in his voice, completing Kayden's thought. "Lich just died...we left him in that cave to suffer."  
That quieted the table up. Kayden turned forward and folded his hands on the table. Jonny almost looked darker than previously...like he was wearing darker clothes but wasn't. "Lich din't have to save you. He chose to go."

Jonny clenched his teeth and spoke through them. "All those other people died to that wither, too."

"Jonny, you and Lich did all you could." Gamma said.

"But how much could I have actually done?" Jonny seethed. "I had a damn wooden sword and I ran in like I was going to save the save the world. I know you guys are good enough of friends to go after me...I KNEW that. Yet I still went." He pushed his bowl away. His angry words drew the attention of a few people at the tables around them. Their eyes seemed sympathetic.

Jonny went quiet for a moment. His next words came out almost silent. "Did it not remind you of the war?"

Kayden's eyes hardened...the war with the Southern Nation. They used withers as weapons of mass destruction against the Farchonian armies...a violation of international law. Everyone in Farchon knew someone who fell victim to the a wither. Half of the population of the southern part of Farchon had some sort of PTSD from their devastating effects.

"Yeah." Kayden whispered. "It kinda' did." Kayden could see that Jonny was trying to hold it together.

Gamma sighed next to him and lowered her head, strands of her blonde hair fell down out of her bun. Jonny just hardened his face more and looked down, seemingly not wanting to say more.

"So these are the new D tiers, huh?" A brash feminine voice boomed behind them. Even Jonny looked up. Kayden and Gamma turned around to see an iron clad woman standing behind them with a diamond sword at her hip. "Nice to meet ya'! I'm the leader or whatever of this place." She said with vigor as she grabbed Kayden's and Gammas shoulders and shook them wildly. She then let out a hearty laugh. She seemed to be around thirty and had long black hair pulled up in a bun like Gammas. She had a lean face and bright green eyes. She wore full armor but no helmet.

"My name is Bridget, but just call me Bridge." She swung around the table and slammed herself down on the seat next to Jonny. "Not hungry big guy?" She said looking at Jonny's soup. She grabbed his spoon and took a big sip herself. "Ooooh ho ho that's good stuff. Especially when you've been eating stale bread for weeks." She dropped the spoon back into the soup and looked right at the surprised face of Jonny. They had the exact same hair color except Jonny's was very short. "So big guy, what's your name?" She said as she laid a strong hand on his shoulder.

Too scared to do otherwise, he answered. "Jonny." It was almost comical.

"Well eat up now, Big Jonny. You only get one and a half meals a day around here and we don't take kindly to those who waste food."

"Oh." Was all he responded with as his eyes looked back down at his soup.

"And you two lovebirds?" She grinned at Gamma and Kayden.

Kayden blushed and held his hands up in defense. "Oh, no we're not-"

"I'm Gamma." Gamma responded cheerfully. "And this is Kayden." She gave Kayden a teasing side glance before returning her full attention to Bridget. "It's an amazing place you have here! It's like an oasis!"

Bridget seemed to like the praise. "Oh, girl, you haven't seen an oasis yet, but thank you. This place acts as a pit-stop to help get Farchonians out of spawn. But I have to warn you on one thing."

"What's that?" Gamma asked.

Bridget leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms, her demeanor suddenly growing solemn. "Well first I have to explain something ELSE to ya'll." She sighed. "Have you heard of the powers the natives have?"

The trio was silent. Powers?

"I suppose not. Well no one truly know how or why, but the native people have very powerful abilities. Abilities that allow them to move at hyper speeds, have super strength, know everything about an opponent with just one glance, or the ability to detect if someone is nearby without even using one of their usual five senses. They call them hacks."

The table stayed silent as the trio processed what had just been said.

Kayden broke the silence. "That's ridiculous."

"Is it?" Bridget retorted. She turned to the far wall behind her and waved someone over who was leaning against it. He had his arms crossed and had a mean expression on his face. He was older...probably forty. He seemed different. His clothes were very tattered and his hair was unkept. Kayden didn't realize it at first, but now that he thought about it, that guy had been watching them this whole time. He came over and stood contraposto next to Bridget, hands in pockets. "This is Frosty. He's a native." Kayden felt the whole table tense up.

Bridget continued. "He didn't like the crap he was receiving from native groups out there so he came to us to help fight back, giving us helpful insight. He has hacks too." What? He stood with his hips out and his chin up, looking straight at Kayden. A piece of straw jutted from his mouth. "Frosty, display some of your hacks to our new D-ranks." "Should I scare him?" He asked menacingly looking right at Kayden. Kayden felt icy on the inside. For some reason he felt...scared.

"Just a bit." Bridget said as she smiled lightly. Kayden was frozen to his seat. He noticed everyone else in the room, about a dozen people or so had all stopped their conversations and had turned to see what was happening.

"If you say so." Was all he said before letting the straw fall out of his mouth. Kayden watched it fall, hypnotized by it. Suddenly, the man dashed left around the table at a very fast speed and grabbed Kayden in a headlock, throwing a knife up against his throat. Kayden had no time to react.

"Believer her now?" Frosty asked. Kayden looked back to see the piece of straw finally fall onto the table where he was just standing.

"Yes." was all he said with a shaky voice. Then Frosty released him.

He's so fast! Was all Kayden could think at that moment. He had never even thought it would be possible for a human to move that fast.

Frosty moved over to Bridget and picked his straw up and placed it in his mouth. "But up against the most skilled hackers, I wouldn't stand a chance."

"How did the people here get these powers?" Gamma asked.

Bridget opened a palm. "Like I said, no one really knows. It is just something tied to this strange land.

Gamma looked, quizative. "Tied to this land?"

"Yes. I say that because it is not only tied to the natives. Just being here grants you hack abilities." Kayden's eyes widened. "Some develop them stronger than others, even I am starting to see somethings emerging in myself and I've only been here two and a half months."

Kayden looked down at his hands. Still shaking slightly. "Even I can get these...powers? These hacks?" He looked back up at Bridget.

Bridget laughed through her nose and looked amused. "That's right D rank. But don't think they'll come easy or even at all. Even some of the Farchonians who have been here all of the past three and a half months have not developed any. Plus, you need to train them, like any other skill to develop and strengthen them."

"How?" Gamma asked.

Bridget sat up, closing her eyes and holding her hands out. "Look, I don't want to overload you with information right now. But remember what I said a moment ago about a warning?"

Gamma nodded. "I mentioned hacks that can detect nearby people, yes?"

"Yes."

"Well here is why the veil of this base is paper thin; why it can be found with relative ease by a bloodthirsty native. The average person's detection abilities range between seventy-five and one hundred blocks meaning if an enemy walks directly over us, they will detect a large group of people down here...leading to our likely demise. See where I am going? This is your warning. You have two choices. Stay here, work for us for a while, train up, then once we believe you're ready, we'll send you on your way, or, leave now and not take the risk of being in such an obvious spot. What do you say?"

Kayden looked up at Jonny who was looking down at his hands then over to Gamma who met his gaze. They nodded to each other. Kayden looked up confidently at Bridget. "We'll stay."

Bridget smiled. "Good." She said wholeheartedly. She stood up from her chair and the man named Frosty threw his straw back in his mouth and made his way over back to his side of the room. Bridget put a hand of Jonny's shoulder who flinched. She laughed. "Eat up Big Jonny, your work and combat training starts tomorrow. Chigo will show you to your room once you're done here.

They thanked her then she walked back down the hallway where she came from. The group sat in silence once more...it seemed to be a common theme.

"Well..." Gamma started. "That's a lot to chew on." Kayden just nodded. It was all he could think to do at the moment.

Jonny took one small sip of his lukewarm soup before pushing away and standing up. "I'm going to find Chigo." He didn't look at them as he stood up and walked away. Neither of the others tried to stop him. He left down the same hallway Bridget went down.

"He's in the dumps." Gamma said, stating the obvious.

"Yeah. I think the death of Lich meant more to him than it did to us."

"How so?"

"Well, when we were on the ship, he hinted it to me, but I think he lost a few close people to him during the war. He lived close to the southern border. He didn't tell me who died but he did say that Rusher's army liberated his town and drove out the withers."

Gamma bit her lower lip but it was far from playful. "Poor guy."

"Yeah." Kayden burped, tasting beetroot on his breath. He was thoroughly filled.

"I'm done here." Kayden said to Gamma. She said she was too.

Kayden nodded "Okay. Then let's go find Chigo and get to our room for the night. Sound good?"

Gamma nodded and her sad look faded a little as she stood up with Kayden. Kayden grabbed all three bowls and placed them where the rest of the dirty dishes were piling up. He looked back down at Gamma as they walked out of the dining hall. "Let's get a good rest. Tomorrow we start for real." Gamma gave a sincere closed lips smile and hugged Kayden's arm.

This place was a small flame of hope. The depths and desolation of spawn now seemed to have a small flame of hope lit in it. A small one nonetheless, but it was still lit. The depression and hopelessness he had before seemed to be ebbing away.

He almost pulled away from the hug but after a moment he realized he didn't mind. It was kinda nice.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow we start for real.


	8. A New Job

Idra gawked at the level of swordplay. She had never seen anything like it. Her partner brushed off his shoulder as he stood there, unfazed as his opponent stood in a readied position.

The veiled warrior then pointed a sword at Razar. "Make me tell you my name, fellow warrior. Defeat me, now."

Razar's grin had been wiped off his face and it suddenly got very serious. "In fifty seconds, I will know your name." Razar lunged forward once more, swords trailing behind him as he sprinted low against the ground at his opponent. He slashed his swords up again as another cloud of dust erupted. Suddenly an object flew out of the sky and struck the ground next to the fight. Purple particles flew from the cloud and the quad swordsman coalesced where the object impacted.

What?!

He brought one of his swords back and threw it into the cloud of dust directly at Razar.

The sword entered the dust cloud and a sharp clang accompanied by a yell, rang out from it. As the dust settled, Razar stood in the midst of it. He was breathing heavily and stood in a pained position. Idra's eyes widened in shock. There was a sword piercing his hip in the gap between his chestplate and leggings. The quad-swordsman delivered a direct hit! Idra gawked at his prowess and skill. Despite how great of a blow it was, one fact still stood...Razar was still standing.

Razar spoke in pain. "You bastard. I didn't even see you throw an enderpearl." He chuckled a bit. "You got me good but I'm still on my feet. I may have underestimated you a bit. I won't make that mistake again."

The moon had begun to rise in the cloud dappled sky. It was a cool night as rain was going to set in soon. A storm was coming from the east.

The quad-swordsman tilted his head to the side. "You do not surrender?" He drew one of the swords from his back, replacing the one he just threw.

"Nowhere near." Razar let go of one of his own swords and grabbed onto the hilt of the sword impaled in him. With a horribly loud yowl, he pulled it straight out, blood sprayed all over. He screamed more in pain as he shot his hand in his pouch. Seeing what was happening, Idra's partner dashed forward and aimed for Razar's arm which was reaching in his bag. Seemingly impossibly, Razar ducked, blood spraying from his mouth and wound. He was holding an enchanted golden apple. In one swift movement, he consumed it.

The quad-swordsman, flying past him, shot one sword into the ground, using it as an axle, and using his momentum, swung back in the direction of Razar, kicking him straight in the face, sending his foe flying. Razar tumbled through the wheat, spraying up allergen filled dust. Idra's partner sheathed his third sword and picked up the one completely covered in blood, the one Razar had just pulled out of his body.

Razar stood up slowly. The golden apple seemed to be doing its job healing him completely but hadn't finished yet.

The quad-swordsman ran forward and slashed at Razar who parried as he stepped backwards. Idra's partner kept pushing forward, swinging from the left and right, not giving his opponent a moment of rest. Their swings and parries were fast. These combat hacks far surpassed Idra's.

Idra's partner ducked a side slash and spun with his swords out, scraping against Razar's armor, cracking it slightly. That's sharpness five for you.

Looking at the skill of the combatants Idra could only assume one thing. Her thoughts nearly drowned out the clanging of gear. Idra was an A- fighter. the quad-swordsman beat her in nearly an instant. And this man...Razar...is putting up a hell of a fight against him. Idra had only seen a handful of them in her life...they were legendary but she could only put up one conclusion...these guys were S rank fighters. Idra took another step back, realizing that the magnitude of this fight was greater than she had initially realized.

Idra's partner dealt another hard blow to Razar's leggings, cracking them more, delving deep scratches into their surface. He then threw a sword high in the air. Seeing the opening, Razar jabbed at the quad wielder who stepped forward quickly, dodging the sword by a centimeter. This movement caught Razar off guard. The quad wielder grabbed a loose chunk of Razar's broken enchanted leggings and ripped it straight off, shattering it all. In the same motion, Idra's partner spun his sword in his hand in a stylish fashion and swung it at Razar's completely exposed knee. Razar's eyes widened in realization that there was nothing he could do. Razar's was too close to his opponent to block. He was still recovering from his own attack and the quad-swordsman was so fast, he couldn't dodge. The sword went to deal the disabling blow...a flash of blue shot in-between the two fighters. Idra's partner flew backward, losing his sword in the process. He tumbled through the air and landed hard on the ground. He quickly drew his back swords and stood up, ready for a second attack.

Confused, Idra, looked back the the cause of the commotion. The axe-wielder was standing directly in front of Razar, facing the quad-swordsman who was ten blocks away. He had his axe drawn. Idra looked down at her partner's sword which had flown from the fight and stuck itself in the ground by her feet.

She looked back up at the powerful man who had intervened. He stood with his axe nearly scraping the ground. His face was dead serious.

"Multi-swordsman." He spoke. "Stand down. This battle is now over." Idra's gaze drew over to her partner who stood battle ready for a few moments longer. After a few seconds he stood down and sheathed both of his swords. Suddenly, there was a flash of blue in the air above Razar and the axe-wielder shot his hand back and caught it by the handle. Ooh's and aah's went around the circle of spectators. The axe-wielder held the quad-swordsman's sword out in front of him at arms length and admired it. His face was still stone cold. "Fine craft." He tossed the sword back at Idra's partner who caught it with ease.

"I suppose we're not going to hear your name?" The axe-wielder asked.

"I don't give it away easily." Her partner said stoically.

"I see. Well I underestimated you, multi-swordsman. What shall I call you?"

"You do not need to call me anything. I would just like to go-"

"I want to ask you something." He looked straight at the quad-swordsman. "I am creating an elite unit. I'm scouring the land for S- rank fighters or above. You fit the description of that perfectly. I want you to join us."

Idra's thoughts spun. He wants him to join them? That's crazy! They just attacked us!

Her partner was silent for a long moment. He looked at the ground, thinking carefully. "What is the intention for this elite unit?"

The axe-wielder who Idra had determined to be the enemy leader, huffed. "It is the first step of many in a larger...much grander plan of mine to completely stop the flow of newsucks...forever."

This peaked her partner's interest as he raised his head slightly. "How so?"

"Join us and find out. Now, I'm sure, Multi-Swordsman, you have your own agenda and I assure you, you will be able to continue it, just as long as you just do a job for us every once in a while."

"What about my partner?" The quad-swordsman asked as he waved over to Idra. "I will join you only if she is allowed to join also."

Idra's throat tightened in apprehension.

The enemy leader turned to her. "Look at me in the eyes, girl." Swallowing, she did as she was told. His stare was cold and hard. He stared solemnly as if looking into her soul. To this day, she still doesn't know how to explain it but in that moment...she felt cold...and lonely. As if his gaze itself was enough to strike her down. Never before had she felt such disparity.

"She doesn't have the coldness in her eyes. Girl, what is your combat rank."

She gulped and looked over to her partner for help.

Suddenly, an incredibly strong force plowed into her, sending her through the wheat. A heavy force landed on top of her. Shocked, spit flying out of her mouth from the force, she regained her bearings to realize she was on her back. The axe-wielder was on top of her, his axe was at her throat. His spare hand had grabbed her sword out of her sheath and was holding it against her right wrist. She tasted blood in her mouth. Confusion and fear swept over her. He had been twenty blocks away! She didn't even see him move! How did he do this?!

"You can't even see that slow attack. Tch. An A ranker...a low one at that.

"Get off of her." Idra hear her partner speak calmly but firmly from where he was standing. The enemy leader stood up off of her. She gasped heavily and sat up, spitting blood onto the trampled wheat.

"Your sword." He spoke behind her. Idra, on all fours, turned to see the axe-wielder holding her sword by the blade end, offering it back to her. This surprised her...this gesture of trust. Idra took it with some anger and stood back up, sheathing it. The leader turned to the quad-swordsman. "She can join also, under your direct supervision but only under one condition."

"What is that?" Her partner asked.

"She needs to be at least S- rank in three months. If she isn't...well...let's just say it won't be good for her. We don't need dead weight in out group. Speaking of dead weight, you all are free to go."

The diamond-clad people around them all stood up, nodded at the axe-wielder and ran to their horses and rode off into the distance in all directions.

The axe-wielder walked back over to Razar. "Those mercenaries were just A rankers who worked for us to help us comb spawn over the last couple days in exchange for...specific forms of payment. So. Man of shadow. Do you agree to our terms?"

Her partner raised his head and looked straight at the enemy leader. "Before I answer, are you who I think you are?"

The leader chuckled for a moment before sheathing his axe. "Yes. I am Fit. The previous leader of the Valkyrian empire."

Idra audibly gasped. Leader of Valkyria?!

The quad-swordsman bowed his head. "You can call me Shadow. I accept your terms, Fit."

"Great to hear. Now Razar, Shadow. Shake hands."

Without hesitation, Razar marched, legging-less, over to Idra's partner and grabbed his hand with great enthusiasm. "You are a fantastic fighter, Shadow. I underestimated you. And to think you didn't even draw your fourth sword to beat me. You are truly impressive."

The quad-swordsman shook wholeheartedly back. "And unto you, fellow warrior, Razar. I will admit, I expected you to be a bit easier. I look forward to working with you."

Really?! Idra thought. How are you looking forward to this new relationship?

"Good." Fit said. "Your first job is to go find an old friend of mine." Fit pulled a small book out of his pack and threw it at Idra's partner...Shadow as he asked them to call him. Idra decided that that's what she would call him for now until she learned his real name.

"In there is everything you need to know." He said to Shadow.

"Razar!"

"Right." Razar responded as he whistled their horses down to them.

Fit mounted his white horse once it arrived. "We will be seeing you both soon." He took one last look at Idra. "How insensitive of me. Girl, what is your name?"

She took a deep breath. "My name is Idra."

He smiled."I will be sure to remember that."

She wasn't sure if she wanted him to remember.

"Oh, Shadow." Fit called down to him from his horse.

"Yes?"

"Those three newsucks back there who you attacked. You interrogated one of them. He had signs of torture on him."

Idra squinted her eyes. Damn, Fit is good.

Fit adjusted the elytra on his back to be more comfortable on his large horse. "What did you get out of them?"

"The one we interrogated said he came from a hideout thirty-thousand blocks south and sixteen-thousand blocks west from this location. He said its deep underground and is run by a man named Chigo. Idra and I were going to check it out ourselves."

Fit waved his arm in dismissal. "Don't worry about it. You two go complete that job I assigned to you." He smiled devilishly and his eyes got filled with a gross darkness that made even Idra sick. "We'll go give our new Rusher friends a visit."

With that, Razar threw a speed potion onto their horses and they peeled away in the direction of the rising moon.

The duo watched them in silence as they rode off at an astonishing speed, disappearing behind a large sandstone pyramid.

Idra turned her head toward Shadow who hadn't moved. He still had the leather bound book closed in his hand. She opened her mouth to speak. She assumed everything he had just agreed to was just to help them get out of that situation alive...most likely if they denied the request to join Fit's group they would have been killed. "Shadow, we don't-"

"Do not call me that!" he snapped, catching Idra off guard. He plopped down onto his butt in the wheat, holding the book over his knee. His enchanted diamond armor gave the sides of their stalks a slight bluish glow. He bowed his head. "I'm sorry for snapping at you, Idra." She was surprised again as this was the first time she had heard him use a conjunction while speaking. She sat down next to him.

"That is a name that I reserve for those I wish to keep my distance with."

Idra hid a small smile. For some reason that made her really happy.

He rubbed his thumb over the book cover. "I just did what I needed to do to save ourselves."

"I know." Idra confirmed.

"But...this may be our chance to help out the natives on a greater scale. That man...Fit...he is a legend, Idra, as I am sure you are well aware."

Idra nodded. Known only as 'Fit', he was the leader of the most powerful group in the land's history; the empire of Valkyria. The riches of their bases and cities were immeasurable. They possessed armies of tens of thousands of mobs and had thousands of people under their sphere of influence. They rose to power half a century ago when their first leader, another legend, Sato, strategized and initiated the third incursion of spawn, where natives flock to spawn to try to quell the flow of newsucks entering the continent. They shut down a large invasion of people from a far away land. Their crest of an eagle can still be seen in ruins all over the continent. They fell from power almost thirty years ago when internal conflicts and betrayals tore them apart.

"Idra." His voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Just call me Al for now. Is that alright?"

Idra nodded. "Okay, Al." She was just happy to have something to call him by.

He took another breath in. "I think Fit is trying to start the fourth incursion. It only makes sense."

Idra nodded in realization.

Al continued. "Fit is a dangerous man. His combat skills are unrivaled. I've heard some regard him as a S++ rated combatant. The way he dove between me and Razar...I didn't even know what happened. He was too fast for even me to see."

"Even for you?!" Idra exclaimed.

"Yes. Up to this point, only three people have ever been able to knock my sword out of my hand. Idra he is on a whole different level."

Goosebumps ran across her body, hearing her powerful partner speak of this. Idra ventured to guess..."So although he's dangerous, since we have common interests you want to ally with him?"

"Correct." He nodded. "Plus..." His hand squeezed around the binding of the book. "I do not want to be on his bad side. I want to keep him close enough to the point where we can keep an eye on him. Do you agree?"

Idra nodded.

"Good. Sorry I could not include you in the negotiations. He would not have had anything you said."

"I understand."

"Alright. Let us see what this job is." Al said as he undid the cover and flipped the first page. He stared at it intensely for a long minute.

"What does it say?" Idra asked. He didn't answer immediately. He seemed to be processing what he was seeing. "What is it!"

Al's head slowly raised from the book and looked at Idra. "Get ready for the fourth incursion, Idra...we are going to go find Sato."


End file.
